This summer, Virginia Sea Grant fellow Katie Thatcher is reaching out to community supported fisheries (CSFs) throughout the U.S. to get ideas for how to rise above the challenges that come with establishing and maintaining CSFs.
Her research is part of a larger project investigating the feasibility of a CSF in Williamsburg. A CSF is a membership-based program in which customers pay a membership fee and receive a consistent amount of locally harvested seafood on a consistent schedule.
For Katie, her fellowship has done more than give her experience to ocean and food system issues. She said, “I am constantly excited by the different educational opportunities this fellowship presents, from the encouragement to employ my own research methods to the support and guidance offered when developing new ideas.”
By the end of the summer, Katie will have interviewed and analyzed several CSF models. Her research will advise the organizational, legal, and sustainability framework for the ideal CSF in the Williamsburg area, as well as identify the current practices used by other CSFs.
Katie, a New York native, graduated from William & Mary May 2012 with degrees in environmental policy and anthropology. She intends to apply to graduate school and pursue a career in environmental law.
