RECAP: Hope in the Water Screening and Panel Discussion

Saturday, February 8th, Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce — Cannon Beach, OR

As part of our Winter Waters x Cannon Beach takeover weekend, Winter Waters teamed up with Fed by Blue for a screening of Hope in the Water followed by a deep dive on the Blue Foods industry with some Oregon experts. Hope in the Water is a PBS series about the Blue Foods industry that features kelp farming, urchin ranching, sustainable shrimp farms, and more! It’s a very uplifting docu-series made by Fed by Blue, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the aquaculture and mariculture industries through education, storytelling, and collaboration.

Blue foods, as defined by Fed by Blue, are the nutritious and diverse foods that come from the planet’s bodies of water, including streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, seas, and oceans. From these abundant waters, we harvest and cultivate a wide variety of aquatic animals, plants, and algae. Considered some of the most nourishing and sustainable foods on Earth, blue foods are an essential part of our food system now and will continue to be critical as the global population grows.

Oregon is home to some of the most sustainable fisheries in the world. With blue foods playing an increasingly important role in conversations around sustainable diets and food systems, we wanted to create an opportunity for the community to learn directly from local experts. We are so pleased with how this event came together and the connections it sparked.

Upon arrival, guests were welcomed with a variety of seafood bites, drinks, and the opportunity to mingle with panelists, fellow attendees, chefs, and tastemakers from across Oregon.

Bento boxes were crafted and provided by Chef Jane Hashimawari of Ippai PDX. Known for her focus on Japanese comfort food, Jane highlighted the seasonal bounty of the Pacific Northwest with her Winter Waters bento boxes, which we fell in love with after last year’s events.

Bento Boxes included:

-Inari filled with shiitake, hijiki, edamame
-Kombu pickled purple cabbage
-Oregon Albacore tataki with yuzu kosho
-8 minute egg topped with kewpie and dulse furikake
-Nori and miso roasted kabocha squash
-Wakame, dulse and Dungeness crab salad with honey miso vinaigrette

Faith and Karen of Dappled Tonic were also present, serving up refreshing mocktails made with dulse seaweed and spruce tips, using their expertly crafted Citrus Tonic Water. You can find the recipe [here](link recipe). Dappled is a women-owned, Portland-based tonic company, and their small-batch blends are truly some of the best we’ve ever tasted.

A spread of locally smoked salmon, smoked albacore tuna dips, and smoked cheeses was generously donated by Neahkahnie Smokehouse in Wheeler, Oregon, and paired perfectly with the beloved dulse seaweed focaccia from Tastebud PDX, which was also generously donated.

After plenty of snacking, sipping, and conversation, guests took their seats in the beautiful Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce for a heartfelt 20-minute screening of Hope in the Water. The room was filled with a sense of inspiration and possibility.

Following the film, a thoughtful panel discussion featured local leaders in the Blue Foods movement. Panelists included Jen Bushman of Fed by Blue, Julie Kuchepatov of Seafood and Gender Equality (SAGE), Sara Hamilton of Oregon Kelp Alliance (ORKA), and Aaron Huang of Oonee Sea Ranch. The conversation was moderated by Winter Waters co-founder Alanna Kieffer of Shifting Tides and Oregon Seaweed.

Read more about each panelist below.

Jen Bushman – Fed by Blue
Jen has been working in the food industry for nearly 25 years, with a passion for sustainable aquaculture and water farming at all levels. She is the director of Fed by Blue, an organization that drives awareness and action in support of a responsible and regenerative blue food system.

Sara Hamilton – Oregon Kelp Alliance (ORKA)
Sara is a driving force behind ORKA’s mission to monitor and protect Oregon’s kelp forests. She coordinates SCUBA and drone surveys, manages data, and is currently leading the development of the 2024 Oregon Kelp Forest Status Report. Her work helps to better understand how these vital ecosystems have changed over time.

Julie Kuchepatov – Seafood and Gender Equality (SAGE)
Julie is a recognized thought leader in both the sustainable seafood and fair trade movements. Before founding SAGE, she served as Seafood Director at Fair Trade USA, where she led and scaled the Fair Trade Seafood Program. Throughout her career, she has worked directly with stakeholders across the seafood sector to address pressing environmental and social challenges in global seafood production.

Aaron Huang – Oonee Sea Ranch
Aaron is an early-stage operator and founder who has held key executive roles in multiple venture-backed companies. He co-founded Oonee Sea Ranch in response to the collapse of kelp forests and the rise of overgrazing urchins, sometimes referred to as “underwater forest fires.” Oonee is developing a land-based restorative aquaculture solution to address ecosystem degradation and workforce development through a climate resilience lens. Aaron believes that reconnecting people with nature through food has the power to shift perspectives and behaviors—one urchin at a time.

Moderator: Alanna Kieffer – Shifting Tides
Alanna is a marine science educator with a deep love for Oregon’s rocky intertidal ecosystems and the food they provide. As part of the team at Oregon Seaweed, she is helping bring Pacific dulse to market and advocating for the role of blue foods in a sustainable future. She is typically found leading tidepooling and foraging workshops along the coast and is also a co-founder of Winter Waters.

Thank you to everyone who attended this event and contributed thoughtful questions during the panel discussion. If you were not able to join us, you can still watch Hope in the Water for free on PBS. Follow this link to view the series.

We are incredibly grateful to our generous supporters: Fed by Blue, Dappled Tonic, Tastebud PDX, Tiny Fish Co., and Neahkahnie Smokehouse.

A heartfelt thank you as well to the Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce for sponsoring Winter Waters. You can learn more about Cannon Beach and browse local accommodations here.