Community Voices
Title: Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network of North Carolina: Connecting people, partners, and care
Author: Alyssa Spence
Abstract: In the field of agriculture, duct tape and bailing twine are often practical solutions for day-to-day challenges. However, factors related to agricultural stress may not be so easily solved. Agricultural stress often relates to financial uncertainty, social isolation, hazardous working conditions, and environmental factors (Rudolphi et al, 2024). Barriers to care often include accessibility, stigma, desire for anonymity, and farm credibility of providers (Hagen et al, 2019). The North Carolina Agromedicine Institute’s Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network of North Carolina (FRSAN-NC) was created to reduce these barriers by building trust and bringing support into the communities where people live and work.
Reflecting agriculture’s preference for practical solutions, the program was originally launched in 2012 as Tape and Twine and rebranded in 2021 as FRSAN-NC to align with USDA funding established by the 2018 Farm Bill. FRSAN-NC is a community-based approach, which relies on trust currency and local partners such as Cooperative Extension, commodity groups, healthcare providers, and community organizations. Activities focus on developing a network of wrap-around support for agricultural communities that delivers services and resources in ways that are practical, culturally relevant, and easy to access. The focus is on meeting people where they are and normalizing conversations about stress and mental well-being.
Lessons learned from FRSAN-NC emphasize the importance and challenges presented by braided funding, working along a continuum of diverse stakeholders, and building trust that facilitates the model of wrap-around support. Stress impacts the operator, their workers, and their family, so programs must consider this system as well.
FRSAN-NC is an adaptable model for areas of agriculture beyond farm and ranch operations. The NC Agromedicine Institute’s recommends working with fishing community partners to offer culturally appropriate and community-led initiatives that are grounded in the lived experiences of fishermen and their families.
Title: Voices from the Edge: Oral Histories of the NC Commercial Fishing Industry
Author: Barbara Garrity-Blake
Abstract: Barbara Garrity-Blake shares voices and stories of fishermen, culture bearers, and leaders across the North Carolina coastal plain who have shaped the state’s commercial fishing industry. Centering marginalized voices builds empathy for food producers and working waterfront communities, challenging audiences to rethink whose knowledge counts in conversations about sustainability, governance, and the future of coastal communities.
Title: Reclaiming our Working Waterfront: Community-Led Rechavitalization of small-scale fishing in Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Tomás Ayala Feliciano (Co-Authors: Nicolás Gómez Andújar, Druso Daubon, Luis Suárez)
Asociacion Pesquera de Culebra, Inc.
Issues: Small-scale fishing communities on Culebra, Puerto Rico face compounding challenges including loss of critical waterfront infrastructure, maritime safety gaps, seafood safety concerns (e.g., ciguatera toxin risk), and workforce health vulnerabilities. The historic Villa Pesquera—once a cornerstone of the island’s fishing economy and social fabric—declined alongside fisher numbers due to economic shifts and environmental pressures, thus eroding community resilience and access to fresh seafood.
Description: The Asociación Pesquera de Culebra, a community-based led by local fishers, initiated a multifaceted program to rescue and revitalize the Villa Pesquera as a working waterfront hub. This includes rehabilitation of market and dock facilities, establishment of safety protocols for vessel operations, community education on maritime safety best practices, and integration of seafood traceability systems to ensure product integrity from boat to consumer. The initiative also incorporates outreach on ciguatera risk awareness for both fishers and residents and promotes occupational health resources for fishers exposed to physical and environmental stressors.
Lessons Learned: Community-led stewardship strengthened social cohesion, enhanced awareness of health and safety risks, and improved economic opportunities through direct marketing of local catch. Restoring the Villa Pesquera created a physical and symbolic space for knowledge exchange, cooperative problem-solving, and intergenerational skill transmission. Practical traceability efforts increased consumer confidence while empowering fishers with tools for sustainable practice. Institutional partnerships were critical, yet navigating limited governance support and regulatory complexity remains a persistent constraint.
Recommendations: Policy actions should support working waterfront resilience by securing funding for infrastructure upgrades, integrating formal maritime safety training, and expanding seafood safety monitoring tailored to small-scale fisheries.These policy actions need to support ongoing innovations and adaptations in fishing communities. Scaling community-driven models like Culebra’s informs broader Caribbean waterfront revitalization and equitable coastal livelihoods.
Research
Title: Legislatively Mandated Study of the Health and Management of North Carolina’s Marine Fisheries
Author: Joel Fodrie
Abstract: The North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA) requested a synthetic study on the overall status of the marine fisheries [and their habitats] regulated by the State in response to the twenty-fifth anniversary of NC’s Fisheries Reform Act which guides management in the state. To evaluate the status of NC marine fisheries, coastal habitats, and management operations, our research team efforted a multi-pronged approach to generate: (1) a quantitative comparison of NC fisheries stocks statuses with those in other nearby jurisdictions; (2) a quantitative analysis of the level of management intensity across stocks within NC, as well as in other nearby jurisdictions; (3) a holistic, ecosystem-based analysis of fisheries and environmental patterns in NC across several decades to identify key trends and explore potential drivers of change; (4) an analyses of patterns in the NC management process related to the mode and tempo by which stock assessments and fishery management plans are implemented; (5) an assessment of spatiotemporal patterns in NC coastal habitat quality and quantity (including NC’s network of designated nursery areas); and (6) an exploration of stakeholder engagement in NC marine fisheries management. Using project findings, recommendations submitted to the NCGA intended to strengthen the management and sustainability of marine fisheries have focused on: (a) incorporating a formal science and statistical committee to increase the rigor and frequency of stock assessments that underpin management; (b) increasing stakeholder trust in and engagement with the management process; and (c) supporting fisheries in an ecosystem-based context via more consistent monitoring and conservation/restoration of coastal habitats.
Title: Storms and Marine Fisheries
Author: Nadine Heck
Abstract: Coastal storms are expected to increase in frequency and intensity in the future. These storms can affect marine fisheries in multiple ways on shore as well as on the water. This talk will provide some insights into storm impacts on fisheries across multiple spatial scales. I will first present findings from a global assessment of storm risks to fishery dependent coastal nations based on the 5th IPCC risk framework. Findings from this study indicate which fishery-dependent nations are most at risk to storm impacts overall, as well as in terms of exposure and vulnerability, which both contribute to risk. In addition, this talk will provide some examples on storm impacts on small-scale fisheries at the local scale. Together, these findings provide an understanding of storm impacts on fisheries at multiple spatial scales and highlight potential ways to study and increase the capacity of fisheries and fishery dependent nations to adapt to storms.
Extension and Education
Title: Fishing Communities at the Crossroads: Abandonment, Displacement, and Community Resilience
Author: Emmanuel Maldonado-González
Abstract: Fishing communities across coastal and island regions are facing a growing dilemma: remain in place under increasing social, economic, and environmental pressure, or leave as access to land, housing, and livelihoods becomes more fragile. This presentation examines the intersecting processes of abandonment, displacement, and resilience in fishing communities, focusing on how tourism development, short-term rentals, climate hazards, and shifting fisheries governance reshape everyday life. Drawing on community-based research, interviews with fishers and residents, and long-term engagement in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, this talk explores how displacement is not only physical but also cultural and economic. Fishing families face shrinking access to waterfronts, rising housing costs, and the erosion of intergenerational knowledge as younger generations are pushed out. At the same time, communities are not simply passive victims. Fishers, cooperatives, and local organizations are actively developing strategies of resistance and adaptation, from defending access to fishing spaces and markets to building partnerships in conservation, education, and sustainable seafood systems. The presentation highlights how resilience is uneven and contested, shaped by power, policy, and access to resources. By centering local voices and lived experience, it offers practical insights for Extension and Education professionals working with fishing communities as they navigate change. The talk concludes with lessons for designing outreach, policy, and research that strengthen cultural continuity, economic viability, and community-driven resilience in fishing communities.
Title: Co-design to coastal defense: How Cedar Key’s community-built living shorelines performed during major hurricanes
Author: Savanna Barry (Co-authors: Mark Clark, Haley Cox, Elix Hernandez)
Abstract: Cedar Key, Florida has endured repeated major hurricanes in recent years, providing a critical proving ground for evaluating the resilience of community-designed living shorelines. Multi-year monitoring of three living shoreline retrofits in Daughtry Bayou alongside the Cedar Key ShOREs community co-design initiative generated insights into community preferences and benefits derived from living shorelines. These projects collectively softened over 30% of the bayou’s shoreline and were built through extensive collaboration among property owners, city staff, UF/IFAS researchers, and coastal engineers. Wave gauge deployments revealed that living shorelines reduced wave energy by 33–79% under typical conditions and by up to 28% during Hurricane Idalia, consistently outperforming adjacent armored shorelines even when storm surge overtopped reef structures. Vegetation and sediment monitoring showed strong recovery in low marsh and oyster reef components post-storm, with established marsh platforms contributing to sediment retention and increased shoaling. Although high marsh and dune zones experienced greater storm-related losses, many areas demonstrated natural regeneration in the months following Idalia, Debby, and Helene. These ecological and protective outcomes were deeply connected to the co-design process, which centered local concerns around access, aesthetics, infrastructure protection, and long-term resilience. Community workshops, intercept surveys, and one-on-one interviews ensured that technically feasible solutions were also socially acceptable and locally supported. Building on this foundation, UF/IFAS Extension has provided extensive practitioner training, landowner technical support, a new living shorelines guidebook, and homeowner-scale living shoreline templates to expand nature-based solution adoption across Florida. Cedar Key’s living shorelines now function not only as protective infrastructure but also as demonstration and educational sites visited by residents, volunteers, and K-12 students. Together, these efforts highlight that the effectiveness of living shorelines in Cedar Key cannot be separated from the relationships and decision-making processes that shaped them. The projects did not eliminate storm impacts, nor did all habitat components respond equally to recent hurricanes. However, sustained monitoring and community engagement revealed where designs performed as intended and where adaptive management could be implemented. Overall, Cedar Key’s living shorelines have reduced strain during recovery and similar approaches would likely help in other hurricane-prone coastal communities.
Solutions and Opportunities
Title: Exploring Successes and Contemporary Challenges for Fisheries Management in the Southeast USA
Author: Michael Allen
Abstract: Fisheries management in the USA represents an example of overall management success, with about 90% of US fish stocks effectively managed and not currently overfished. This presentation will demonstrate successes in fisheries management, including red drum in the Gulf and striped bass in the South Atlantic. However, challenges remain, particularly for species that suffer high mortality from catch and release (e.g., groupers/snappers). Challenges in managing these fisheries include highly uncertain landings and discards in the recreational fishing fleets, depredation of released fish by sharks and marine mammals, and difficult allocation decisions between recreational and commercial fishing sectors. This presentation will highlight solutions that could address these challenges and further improve fisheries management, with a focus on fisheries in the Southeastern USA.
Title: IFISH7 and the IFISH Innovation Exchange
Author: Julie A. Sorensen, Farah Arosemena
Summary of the Issue(s) Addressed: The IFISH Innovation Exchange seeks to increase engagement and the dissemination of solutions to researchers, advocates, trainers and fishing industry workers and business owners across the globe. The Innovation Exchange also seeks to improve research and program development training and expertise through short-term scientific and advocacy missions.
Lessons Learned: In an effort to increase the potential for transdisciplinary research solutions, as well as the exchange of ideas and solutions for improving the safety and health of commercial fisheries, seafood processing and aquaculture workers IFISH planning committee members and conference attendees explored the idea of developing an IFISH Innovation Exchange Network. In a workshop organized as part of the IFISH 6 conference, participants discussed how an Exchange could create a formalized mechanism for encouraging transdisciplinary problem-solving, data publication, skills development or the dissemination of evidence-based health and safety solutions for different populations or locations. Short-term, in-person engagement opportunities would also give researchers or practitioners from developing countries an opportunity to travel to developed countries to share ideas, receive mentoring support and learn skills that they can apply at home. At the end of this session, participants had identified potential funding sources to cover travel funds and living expenses for Innovation Exchange applicants traveling to host institutions. Participants also discussed the key elements of an Online Exchange Hub, potential governance of the Exchange Hub and processes for vetting applications. Utilizing this input, several members of the planning committee submitted an application for funding that would allow the development of the online Innovation Exchange Hub. That application has been funded and work has begun on developing the Innovation Exchange. This presentation will provide updates on the Exchange, as well as plans for IFISH 7.
Recommendations: This presentation will provide an overview of the concept, findings and efforts to date for making the Innovation Exchange Hub a reality, as well as updates on the IFISH 7 conference.
Title: Local Catch Network: Building Community in a Sea of Division
Author: Joshua Stoll
Abstract: The Local Catch Network (LCN) is a community of fishermen, seafood harvesters, researchers, technical assistance providers, and allied partners working to strengthen local and community-based seafood systems across the United States, Canada, and affiliated territories. Established in 2011 as a hub for knowledge exchange and innovation, LCN has grown into a diverse network that connects hundreds of seafood businesses and thousands of individuals committed to resilient, equitable, and sustainable seafood systems. Central to its work are four strategic areas — Building Community, Providing Technical Assistance, Raising the Profile of community-based fisheries, and Facilitating Change — which guide network activities, resource development, and collective action. Over time, the network has expanded its programming to include business development initiatives, summits and retreats, peer learning opportunities, and strategic partnerships that amplify local knowledge and strengthen direct marketing pathways between harvesters and communities. This presentation provides a brief overview of the network, lessons learned from stewarding the community, and thoughts on why coalition building is important for sustaining fisheries and coastal communities.
Title: Virginia’s Young Fishermen’s Initiative: Training the Next Generation of Commercial Watermen in the Commonwealth
Author: Shelby B. White
Abstract: The vision for Virginia’s Young Fishermen’s Initiative is to provide an opportunity for younger generation fishermen (and women) to continue (or begin) their involvement in commercial fishing and preserve the fishing heritage through workshops, training, and networking opportunities. The Initiative was created in response to the “graying of the fleet” in Virginia with the objective of creating a long-term program that enhances the sustainability and resilience of the state’s fishing communities.