November 9 symposium targets healthcare professionals

"I talk about fish and fishing a lot in my private life," says Rollie Barnaby, a Sea Grant and Extension marine resources educator and former commercial fisherman. "People are always coming up to me at social gatherings and asking questions like, 'So, should I still be eating farm-raised salmon?'

"It's been happening so often, I thought it would be a good idea for us to start giving out research-based information from the people doing the research."

Symposium set for November 9
Barnaby teamed with Extension Commercial Fisheries Specialist Ken LaValley and Food and Nutrition Specialist Catherine Violette to organize a symposium on the health benefits and risks of seafood consumption, targeting nutritionists, physicians and other healthcare professionals.

The symposium takes place Friday, November 9, at the Marriott Grappone Conference Center in Concord, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. The $45 cost includes breakfast, lunch, breaks, and all conference materials.

Lots of information, tough to evaluate
"The topic is important," says Violette. "There's a lot of information out there about both the health benefits and the risks of eating seafood, but it's hard to evaluate. People tend to limit seafood consumption based on what they've been reading. We've designed this workshop to introduce healthcare professionals to the latest research about both the benefits and the risks so they can advise their clients armed with good information."

Nationally known speakers, many topics
The symposium will feature talks by well-known experts, including keynote speaker Charles Santerre, a toxicologist and professor of food and nutrition at Purdue. Dr. Santerre will speak on Balancing the Risks and Benefits of Fish for Sensitive Populations.

"We couldn't believe the number and caliber of nationally known speakers we've been able to attract," says Barnaby. The symposium format will feature short presentations on topics that include media influence on seafood sales, where seafood consumers get their information, how to meet the rising global demand for seafood, the seafood regulatory structure, and the risks of raw seafood consumption.

Presenters and topics

Joshua Cohen, an associate professor at Tufts-New England Medical Center: A Quantitative Risk-Benefit Analysis of Changes in Population Fish Consumption

Rich Langan, who directs the UNH Open Aquaculture Project: Role of Aquaculture in Meeting the Future Demand for Protein

Ken LaValley, Sea Grant and Extension commercial fisheries specialist: Shellfish Pathogens: Incidence, Risk and Prevention

Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist at the Harvard School of Public Health: Fish and Omega-3 Consumption and Cardiovascular Health - Risks and Benefits

Lori F. Pivarnik, Coordinator, Food Safety Education/Research Program, Nutrition and Food Sciences Department, University of Rhode Island: Consumer Perceptions about Seafood - An Internet Survey

Kathy Roheim, an economist with the University of Rhode Island Department of Environmental and Natural Resource Economics: Influence of Media Reporting on U.S. Demand for Farmed Salmon

KimberlyThompson, associate professor of risk analysis and decision science, director of the Kids Risk Project, Harvard School of Public Health: Putting Risk in Perspective: Effective Risk Communication

Register for the symposium online

Questions? Contact Rollie Barnaby at rollie.barnaby@unh.edu or Deb Stevens at deb.stevens@unh.edu, or call 603-679-5616.

Seafood - Exploring Benefits and Risks has been pre-approved by the American Dietetic Association for 5 CPEUs at Level 2.