Kindra Arnesen is a Louisiana small family fisheries advocate and, along with her husband, captain and owner of her family-run fishing business. Ever since the Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill in 2010 she has been advocating for her community on the state, national, and international level. From 2015 to 2023, she participated as a plaintiff in Earth Island Institute/ALERT Project …

Linda Behnken, fisherman and Executive Director of Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, knows all too well the impacts that offshore fish farming has on communities. As she explains, “Every place where there has been offshore fish farming we have seen wild stocks be decimated. There are always problems with parasites and escapees that impact the wild stock. Alaska has outlawed offshore …

Akayla Bracey, a Science and Regulatory Manager at Beyond Pesticides, began her opposition to offshore fish farming when she first learned about its impacts on both coastal and marine environments. The harmful agrochemicals that she works hard to regulate at Beyond Pesticides have their counterpart in the fish farming industry. “These chemicals cause harmful algae blooms, fluctuations in the pH …

“Its important to me because the source of food matters – it is the only fuel that our bodies have. Some of the food that we’re eating now is like a bad tank of gas. I’m proud to provide my community with healthy, affordable, and fresh seafood. If we are to adopt offshore fish farming, it would be a mistake …

Brett Tolley, the National Program Coordinator for @nama_net was raised in a Massachusetts fishing community where he learned the importance of what it meant to be able to feed your family and your community locally caught seafood. As Brett explains, “Some of my earliest memories of fishing with my father and my brother and catching species like dogfish or skate …

Natalie Parra, the Campaign Director at the @oceanicpreservationsociety, has firsthand experience with the effects of offshore fish farming. As a resident of Hawai’i, she witnessed the first offshore fish farm in US waters, the Hukilau Foods operation. As Natalie explains, “I live really close to the fish farm in Hawai’i and I’ve heard a lot of the negative impacts that …

Lance Kittel is the Executive Director of the Inland Ocean Coalition, an organization that builds land to sea stewardship, proving that you don’t have to be located near the ocean to play a role in protecting the ocean. We are proud to have Lance and the Inland Ocean Coalition as a DCO2 member.

Sean Barrett is one of the founders of the Montauk Seaweed Supply Co where he produces biostimulants and fertilizers out of seaweed. He has been active in the fight for community-supported fisheries for over a decade and is a strong opponent of industrial fish farming. He has been working in New York State to advocate for a values-based approach to …