“How to make NYC seafood local again” symposium at Seaport Museum New York November 18, 2010

Seafood enthusiasts, conservationists and curious New Yorkers alike are invited to discover how New York City’s marine life has transformed over the past 300 years and learn about the challenges and potential of restoring the waterfront into a working fishery at the symposium “How to Make New York City Seafood Local Again” on Thursday, November 18, from 6:00PM-9:00PM at Seaport Museum New York, 12 Fulton Street (between South and Front Streets), Manhattan.

Three hundred years ago, New York Harbor and its surroundings comprised a productive estuary supporting bountiful fisheries for oysters, shad, sturgeon, striped bass, herring, tuna and pretty much every fish and shellfish a New Yorker would want to eat. Today, the harbor is a shadow of its former self. But things are getting better -- water quality has improved, oyster beds are being restored, fish are coming back.

Paul Greenberg, the author of “Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food,” moderates a discussion about the prospects of a commercial fishery returning to New York Harbor. Greenberg will be joined by the biologist and historian John Waldman, and the writers Mark Kurlansky (“Cod,” “The Big Oyster”), Carl Safina (“Song for the Blue Ocean”) and Bruce Franklin (“The Most Important Fish in the Sea”), as well as scientists and fishmongers involved in bringing local seafood back to the five boroughs. The symposium will also feature discussions exploring the history of New York City’s marine life across the food chain, from oyster beds to forage fish and food fish.

Tickets are $10 for Seaport Museum New York members and $15 for non-members. For more information, please e-mail reservations@seany.org or call 212-748-8786.