Imagine a thriving, climate-resilient fishing industry that’s fueled by renewable energy and led by people in boots—not suits.

That’s the vision and reality that Sarah Schumann, Campaign Director of the Fishery Friendly Climate Action Campaign, is working so hard to create.

As a fisher and climate activist, Sarah knows firsthand how climate change affects fisheries and the livelihoods of the people behind them, along with the feasible, scalable solutions needed.

On Season 5, Episode 4 of The Conch podcast, we chat with her about everything from the multifaceted challenges of offshore wind development to solarizing the seafood industry.

Audio Production and Sound Design by Crystal Sanders-Alvarado for Seaworthy Experiences.

Episode Transcript

Episode Guide

• :00 Intro
• 01:36 Sarah Schumann, Campaign Director of the Fishery Friendly Climate Action Campaign shares insights into the climate effects currently faced by fishermen across the U.S.
• 05:47 The Fishery Friendly Climate Action Campaign has four workstreams:
  • Fishery Friendly Climate Action Planning
  • Accelerating a Transition to a Low Carbon Fishing Fleet
  • Solarizing the Seafood Industry
  • Fishery-sensitive Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal
• 12:16 What is needed to put the fishing industry in the driver's seat of its own energy transition
• 17:26 Conversations are key to understanding the gaps in education surrounding decarbonizing fishing fleets
• 19:13 Supporting climate action led by people in boots, not people in suits (you can get this slogan on a t-shirt to support the campaign!)
• 22:45 The multifaceted challenges to offshore wind development and the need to co-optimize multiple federal 30X30 goals that are seemingly contradictory
• 27:41 How to join the Fishery Friendly Climate Action Campaign
• 29:11 Sarah’s journey from environmentalist to fisher to climate activist
• 36:58 Maintaining hope in the face of the climate crisis
• 37:47 Sarah shouts out a Texan HERO and An Unreasonable Woman: A True Story of Shrimpers, Politicos, Polluters, and the Fight for Seadrift, Texas
  

Resources:

1. Check out FisheryFriendlyClimateAction.org for more on the campaign that provides members of the U.S. commercial fishing community with tools, networking, knowledge, and opportunities to advance robust climate solutions that work for U.S. fisheries and not at their expense.
2. Grab some swag to support this effort!
3. Recommend this episode to one person who is curious about how fishers are leading the way towards a climate resilient future.