Who We Are and What We Do

We love our seafood in Rhode Island! It supports our economy, traditions, and families and is at the heart of our popular local food scene.

How the RI Seafood Brand Started

They call Rhode Island the Ocean State for a reason. Between our ocean frontage and Narragansett Bay, we are blessed with instant access to waters that are teeming with a variety of local seafood species. Our goal is to inform you on what those species are, tell you where you can get them, and suggest ways to cook them. From ocean to table, it just doesn't get any fresher than that!

About the Rhode Island Seafood Marketing Collaborative

The Rhode Island Seafood Marketing Collaborative, chaired by the RI Department of Environmental Management, was established by the Rhode Island General Assembly in 2011. The objective of the Collaborative is to support local fishermen and small businesses and to increase awareness and consumption by the public of local seafood species.

The RI Seafood Logo is at the heart of the seafood marketing campaign launched by the Rhode Island Seafood Marketing Collaborative. The Collaborative is actively engaged in a host of programs and activities aimed at fostering increased interest in and demand for local seafood products. In addition to developing and trademarking the Logo, the Collaborative has launched this website to serve as the focal point for the marketing campaign.

The Logo may be used, upon application to the RI Department of Environmental Management, to identify and promote seafood landed in Rhode Island by commercial fishermen, as well as seafood grown in Rhode Island waters by commercial farmers.

About RI Seafood

RI Seafood's primary goal is to increase sales and consumption of RI seafood in RI, and help achieve a more sustainable and secure local seafood system. We are committed to raising awareness regarding RI seafood to stimulate demand, and promoting the many opportunities to access fresh local seafood across the Ocean State.

To accomplish our goals, and the goals of the RI Seafood Marketing Collaborative, RI seafood attends various public outreach events throughout the year to promote the brand and its partners. Events range from seafood festivals, to farmers markets, to partner events, to venue pop-ups, to so much more! Check out our upcoming events page to see where we will be in the coming weeks!

In addition to public outreach events, we also provide promotional supplies and materials to our partner businesses to help boost sales of local seafood options at their venue. We also help connect our partner businesses with other levels of the RI seafood industry so that all parts of the industry may benefit from our work.

Partner businesses are required to make one or more RI seafood products available to their customers. This can be on a regular or intermittent basis, depending on product availability, pricing, etc. We encourage consumers to call ahead to find out what’s available at any given time. Because RI seafood is so diverse, and because species availability often fluctuates throughout the year, it follows that the availability of RI seafood products at RI venues will also fluctuate. That’s a positive attribute – our hallmark is our diversity! – and we continue to promote that attribute via our campaign.

About Our Team

Our team here at RI Seafood may be small, but we are dedicated and passionate about the work we do. Click on the bios below to learn more about who we are!

Molly Moran-Ogren, Seafood Marketing Collaborative (SMC) Chair

Meet Seafood Marketing Collaborative (SMC) Chair, Molly Moran-Ogren! Born in Juneau, Alaska, Molly is a fourth-generation commercial fisherman. She was raised in Anchorage and Ninilchik, Alaska and was only nine months old the first time she was on a boat! Molly’s great-grandfather started the family legacy fishing for salmon on a set-net site in the 1930’s, and most of her family thereafter followed suit.

Understanding that commercial fishing is a livelihood dependent on the resource, and wanting to keep her family’s legacy alive, Molly shifted her career from fishing to advocating for all parts of the seafood industry. She has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Nevada, a Juris Doctor from Roger Williams University School of Law, and a Master’s Degree in Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island. Molly says that “everything she has worked for, has finally come together in this role.”

As the appointed Chair of the SMC, Molly oversees the day-to-day programmatic initiatives, budget, grant proposals, collaborative coordination and meetings, and more. Molly is excited to strive towards keeping commercial fishing and those who work tirelessly to harvest seafood relevant and seen. She will continue to advocate, promote, and help the hard work of the fishermen shine while showing the importance of supporting local seafood.

Jordyn Kastlunger, Fisheries Marketing Specialist

Meet Fisheries Marketing Specialist, Jordyn Kastlunger. Jordyn joined the RI Seafood team in 2022. Jordyn manages the social media pages of RI Seafood which includes content creation, publishes the newsletter, and works closely with local fishermen for features. She is originally from the sunny state of California and comes from a third-generation fishing family in San Diego. Jordyn grew up working as a deckhand for her father and assisting in the direct sales of their catch to the community.

Jordyn graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications and a minor in Sustainability. She spent several years as a seafood liaison for Slow Fish working on community outreach and education on San Diego’s fisheries. She has attended a variety of conferences and meetings both on a national and international level speaking about the importance and success of commercial fishing and sustainable seafood sources. Jordyn is a sitting member on the Local Catch Networks Executive Committee, which is a community made up of fishers, organizers, researchers, and consumers across the country that work to provide local, healthy, and low-impact seafood via community supported fisheries (CSFs) and direct marketing to support fisheries and the communities that depend on them.

Her favorite part of working in fisheries is the days she spends on the water, whether she is fishing or just observing. She enjoys being able to educate people on local seafood, and the various ways it can be enjoyed. Jordyn says she loves all Rhode Island seafood species, but her favorites include oysters, black sea bass, and tautog.

Alex Esterly, RI Seafood Marketing Intern

Meet RI Seafood Marketing Intern, Alex Esterly! Whether you are attending some local RI Seafood festivals, or shopping at a farmers’ market, you might come across our newest RI Seafood team member! His love for all things seafood comes from the time he spent fishing as a child on the Jersey Shore with his grandpa.

Alex is originally from Pennsylvania and made his way to the Ocean State to attend the University of Rhode Island where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental and Natural Resources Economics and double majored in Marine Affairs, he also earned a Master’s Degree in Environmental Economics. His master’s paper, titled “Thoughts from the fishers”, focused on the direct sales program and the fishers he interviewed. Alex also spent some time working with Eating with the Ecosystem on their seafood market blitz in 2019.

He says that growing up, he was always fascinated by the giant squid, making squid one of his favorite Rhode Island species. Alex also says that although he loves all kinds of seafood, his seafood dish of choice is none other than the state appetizer, calamari! He says that he enjoys his role on the RI Seafood team because he gets to combine his hobbies and interests, while being in a policy setting and getting to educate the consumers he meets. Alex says it is rewarding to be able to share his love and passion of seafood through marketing and community engagement.

In Alex’s opinion, when you are buying and consuming local seafood, it spans various disciplines, and covers four pillars: 1. Health, 2. Environment, 3. Economy, and 4. Culture. The next time you see Alex at an event, ask him more about RI Seafood!