2008 Events

October 21, 2008
Bryant Center, Duke University, Durham

DukeFish made a big splash at Duke University’s annual Earth Jam celebration, created to celebrate the environment and promote Duke’s Environmental Studies programs. We focused on educating visitors about sustainable seafood and consumer choices that cause the least harm to the environment. Our fishing game was once again a huge hit, especially with the kids who came to visit our booth! The goal of the game is to “fish” for something from the sea of seafood, and then to identify whether the seafood that is “caught” comes from a sustainable source. We also distributed many seafood guides and recruited several new DukeFish members.

October 3–5, 2008

Morehead City Waterfront

Another successful year of Duke Fish at the NC Seafood Festival! DukeFish sold over 200 pounds of locally-caught shrimp through sales of our delicious grilled shrimp and veggie kabobs. All proceeds ($700) were donated to Carteret Catch, a partnership of commercial fishermen, seafood distributors, restaurant owners, fishery researchers, college educators and local citizens that works to sustain the livelihood and heritage of the Carteret County fishing industry. A big thanks goes to all of the volunteers from Duke’s Marine Lab who helped us peel shrimp, prep kabobs, and staff the DuekFish booth.

September 20, 2008

Hatteras village waterfront

On the Hatteras waterfront, where commercial fishing boats, charter boats, and fishing gear were displayed, students of the Duke Marine Lab and DukeFish shared ideas with traditional North Carolina fishermen. Besides learning about fishing regulations, boating safety and marine resource conservation, we also enjoyed delicious seafood prepared by professional chefs.

“Fisheries in Flux: How Do We Ensure Our Sustainable Future?”

August 17–21, 2008

Ottawa, Canada

Student Activities at the AFS meeting: There was a full day with student activities during the AFS conference. It started with a Student/Mentor Lunch, where students were given the opportunity to meet and network with mentors from the fishing industry, government and academia. This provided the occasion to discuss our experiences, opportunities, and challenges in fisheries science. Later we heard distinguished speakers on topics related to education and employment at the Student Colloquium. This event was followed by a Career Fair. Finally, the night was capped off with an off-site student social in the Byward market, featuring great live music, snacks and beverages.

April 22, 2008

Duke University, Durham

In recognition of Earth Day, the officers along with a few members took part in Duke’s main campus festivities. Our goal for the day was to educate the public about making responsible consumer decisions, to increase our membership, and to have fun. Many passers-by were intrigued by our fishing attire and seafood quiz game. To win a treat, participants would fish in our small ocean (a blue bucket) for paper fish. Each fish was labeled with the species name, and how it was caught. The contestant then had to decide if this was a sustainable capture method and could choose to put the fish back in the ocean, or on a plate.

March 5, 2008

Picatta’s restaurant, Morehead City

DukeFish held a happy hour event at the restaurant Picatta’s in Morehead City as our closing event of the 2007–2008 school year. At the happy hour, Duke University Professor Mike Orbach gave a speech titled “The Success of Fisheries Management in the U.S.” while attendees had a lovely time dining on scrumptious appetizers prepared by Kelly, head chef and owner of Picatta’s.

February 29, 2008

Duke University, Durham

Joseph Gordon from Conserve our Ocean Legacy (COOL) spoke about their campaign to end overfishing by encouraging NMFS to adopt strong fisheries management regulations as they implement the re-authorized Magnuson Stevens Act (MSA) of 2006. His presentation highlighted the impacts of over-fishing with beautiful photographs of marine life and the effects that over-fishing can have on them. It was a powerful presentation that spurred a great discussion afterward.