This year, Long Island baymen were shocked to discover that on the opening day of scallop season, most of the scallops in Peconic Bay were dead. Meanwhile, Gulf oysters are dying, and wild shrimp—once plentiful along much of the US coastline—can only be found in certain pockets of the South. In a series of stories published in October and November of 2019, the New York Times reported on these particular instances of seafood devastation taking place in our waters.

Join award-winning New York Times writer Melissa Clark as she leads a thought-provoking conversation with author Paul Greenberg, oyster expert Julie Qiu, and journalist Charity Robey as they unpack the complex issues that impact our seafood supply and discuss possible solutions for the future.

The panel conversation will be followed by a reception featuring beverages from Talea Beer Co. and sustainable seafood dishes courtesy of Australis Barramundi.

MELISSA CLARK

An award-winning food writer, cookbook author, and cooking video personality, Melissa Clark writes about cuisine and other products of appetite. She earned an M.F.A. in writing from Columbia University. She’s won two James Beard Foundation awards and two IACP awards (International Association of Culinary Professionals), and her work has also been selected for the Best American Food Writing series. In 2012 she joined the staff of the New York Times, where she writes the highly popular Food Section column, A Good Appetite and has starred in over 100 cooking videos. She is a frequent guest on NBC’s The Today Show and is a regular guest host on APM’s The Splendid Table. In addition, Clark has written 42 cookbooks, many of them in collaboration with some of New York’s most celebrated chefs. Her forthcoming cookbook, Dinner In French, explores French cuisine with her characteristic Brooklyn je ne sais quoi.

PAUL GREENBERG

Paul Greenberg is the New York Times bestselling author of Four Fish, American Catch, and The Omega Principle. A regular contributor to the New York Times and many other publications, Mr. Greenberg is the winner of a James Beard Award for Writing and Literature, a Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation and the writer-in-residence at the Safina Center. He has been featured on Fresh Air with Terry Gross, TED and PBS's Frontline.

JULIE QIU

Julie Qiu is an international oyster expert, educator, and founder of the website In A Half Shell—a finalist in this year's Saveur Blog Awards. She hosts intimate oyster tastings and master classes at her Secret Oyster Atelier in Chinatown and produces digital content and products for like-minded oyster enthusiasts. Her thoughts on oyster appreciation have been featured by Vogue, Food & Wine, NPR, Food & Wine, USA Today, and Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix. Julie is also the Marketing Director for Australis Aquaculture, a leading ocean-based barramundi producer. Instagram: @inahalfshellblog

CHARITY ROBEY

Charity Robey writes for the Shelter Island Reporter, where she was awarded first place for columns by the New York Press Association in 2017. Her work also appears in the Suffolk-Times, Newsday, and The New York Times. Her research on scallop flavor and history is part of a paper she gave at the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, published in 2018, and she is a programming chair for the Culinary Historians of New York. Charity writes about hunting, farming, and fishing on Long Island. Twitter & Instagram: @charityrobey