Los Angeles Times talks with Oppenheim, touts LocalCatch.org
University of Maine alumnus Noah Oppenheim talked with the Los Angeles Times for a story about environmental groups urging Americans to eat more fish during the coronavirus pandemic. Oppenheim, who earned a dual master’s degree in marine biology and marine policy and was based at the Darling Marine Center, now is executive director of Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations. “We’re already feeling market impacts because of the overnight evaporation of the restaurant industry — that and our export market, which is also gone,” he said. “Even in times of shelter-in-place and coronapocalypse, we need to remind people that they have a local, sustainable source of protein right in their backyard.” LocalCatch.org was one of the listed groups to check out. The 500-plus member community of fishermen, organizers, researchers, and consumers in North America uses local and direct seafood marketing to promote healthy fisheries and people who depend on them. Joshua Stoll, UMaine assistant professor of marine policy, was a founder of Local Catch in 2011. “When you buy an American wild-capture seafood product, you know it was caught in a manner that is protective of habitat and good for the environment and ensures that we’ll be able to fish forever,” Oppenheim said. WABI (Channel 5) interviewed Stoll about the website.