Mote’s President joins local seafood pioneers and SCUBAnauts at Capitol Hill Ocean Week
Mote leaders helped promote Florida’s eco-friendly seafood and shared Mote’s research with ocean-focused professionals from policymakers to budding scientists during Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW) from June 9-11 in Washington, D.C.
CHOW featured the 40th Annual NOAA Fish Fry — a food-lovers’ event showcasing sustainable seafood from across the U.S. The event brings together scientists, government officials, congress members and seafood enthusiasts. The seafood industry is a pillar of Florida’s ocean-driven “Blue Economy.” Seafood harvested in Florida’s waters contributed $4.5 billion to the state’s economy as of 2011, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The NOAA event brings together chefs and producers from all of the major seafood-producing states in the country and gives them an opportunity to showcase their finest products, feeding 1,400 guests in the courtyard of the U.S. Department of Commerce building just south of the White House.
At the event, Mote President & CEO Dr. Michael P. Crosby and Mote President Emeritus Dr. Kumar Mahadevan joined restaurateur Ed Chiles, representing Chiles Restaurant Group and Healthy Earth sustainable foods, and chefs from Chiles’ restaurants Mar Vista and Sandbar, to represent Florida and tout the benefits of sustainable Florida seafood.
The Florida contingent brought unique, high-end products to the Fish Fry, featuring sustainably farmed sturgeon and caviar produced by the Healthy Earth operation at Mote Aquaculture Park, Mote’s 200-acre fish farm and research facility in eastern Sarasota County. Healthy Earth is a brand of Southeast Venture Holdings (Seven Holdings), LLC, which purchased the license to Mote’s sturgeon farming operation in 2014. The sturgeon are raised in an innovative, water-recirculation system that releases no wastewater off the property.
In addition to caviar, the Chiles Restaurant Group culinary team provided bottarga — specially prepared mullet roe that is a rising star of Florida’s seafood scene. Ed Chiles, owner of the Chiles group, is a partner in Healthy Earth, which purchased the Anna Maria Fish Company that was founded by Seth Cripe and Chiles and is the first and only U.S. company processing Southwest Florida’s grey striped mullet roe in an effort to create and retain the economic value of a local heritage resource. Partnership efforts of the Chiles group, Healthy Earth and Mote provide an opportunity to expand this value-added economic model to promote and develop other local marine resources in a sustainable manner.
The Mote-Healthy Earth/Chiles team also presented crudo made from lionfish harvested in Florida’s coastal waters. Lionfish are ecologically disruptive invasive species that the public is encouraged to eat. On July 10-12 in Sarasota, Mote will host a special Lionfish Derby where registered participants can hunt for lionfish in the Gulf and the public can taste the filets of this delicious invader.
At another CHOW event, the 13th Annual Ocean Awards Gala of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, Mote CEO Crosby received a special plaque honoring Mote from some budding Florida scientists who are members of SCUBAnauts International.
SCUBAnauts allows young men and women ages 12 through 18 to get involved in marine science through underwater marine research activities to build character, promote active citizenship and develop effective leadership skills. The SCUBAnauts visited D.C. during CHOW to talk about ocean-related issues with experts in ocean policy and research.
Later this summer, the SCUBAnauts will join Mote in the field to help with coral restoration work being conducted in the Lab’s underwater coral nursery in the Florida Keys. Members of the Combat Wounded Veterans Challenge will also be helping with this restoration at the same time.