Leadership Workshop to Design an OSU Seafood Systems and Innovation Center

We thank the many participants who attended and helped to host this workshop on May 14-15, 2018 at the Good Samaritan Center for Health Education and Pacific Maritime Heritage Center in Newport, Oregon. 

Final Report HERE

JOIN US to design a research and education center dedicated to developing new approaches that enable the fishing, aquaculture, and seafood industries and managers to meet increasing demands for healthy seafood while sustaining wild fisheries and estuarine, coastal, and ocean ecosystems.

 

The Vision

Unlike past approaches addressing specific aspects of fisheries or seafood, our vision is a center of interdisciplinary expertise with a systems perspective--- from ecosystems to consumers. This will be the first center in the United States, and one of very few in the world, dedicated to seafood systems. Student and stakeholder education will enhance the center's ability to reach important constituencies up and down the coast. Although located in Oregon and with a Pacific Northwest perspective, our work will cut across the nation and globe to support sustainable seafood systems, increase seafood consumption, and provide nutritional food for the world's rapidly growing population.

Please see information on this page for more information and contact us with your interest.

Workshop Highlights

Agenda, meeting materials, and speaker information

Check out the meeting's Executive Summary, materials discussed during the meeting and speaker information, including some of the presentations, by visiting the Food from the Sea Workshop Documents page.

Tours on May 14 and May 16

  • Tours explored Newport's bayfront, Yaquina Bay's ecosystem, Oregon Oyster Farms, and aquaculture research and education facilities at Hatfield Marine Science Center and Oregon Coast Community College. As of May 11, registration is closed for tours.

  • See the list of tours

By convening experts from the major sectors involved in fisheries and seafood, this creative design workshop aimed to help develop the conceptual architecture and strategies for this center. Leading the workshop development and organization was a group of Oregon State faculty, members of the seafood industry, and representatives of fishery science-management agencies.

This May 14-16 (2018) workshop included motivational speakers and panels with a major focus on interactive discussions. Special events will include tours of vessels, plants, and aquaculture operations and activities sponsored by culinary research chefs. 

Learn more about:

The Impact

This workshop is part of the OSU Marine Studies Initiative's work to create frameworks of collaborations that span scientific, political, and socio-cultural disciplines and spur innovations from basic science to practical applications. A comprehensive workshop proceedings will guide the establishment of an Oregon State research and education center focused on the future of food from the sea.

Ultimately, with Oregon State's leadership and globally recognized research, education, and outreach and engagement about fisheries and seafood, innovations will be shared with the fishing industry and local communities to positively impact local economies and personal prosperity. Students will gain comprehensive and practical knowledge for the workforce, professional development, and leadership.  

During the workshop, participants focused on a range of topics, such as how a central program can build on partnerships with industry, agencies and coastal communities and substantial and unique physical and human assets at Oregon State to:

  • Embrace innovation, entrepreneurship, and systems thinking
  • Evaluate interconnections across the seafood supply chain, from ecosystems to consumers
  • Improve the benefits, efficiency, and profitability of seafood value chains
  • Integrate traditional topics such as biology, harvest, and management with critical components of seafood supply like logistics, waste management, risk management, information systems, finance, trade and marketing, seafood design, and consumer behavior.