Imani Black: Changing the Future of Aquaculture

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Imani Black’s family has been involved in aquaculture in the Chesapeake Bay area since the 1800s. Imani always knew she wanted to be involved in environmental restoration and conservation, and after doing an oyster aquaculture training program she knew that this was the field she would work in for the rest of her life.

By 2050 it is expected that all seafood in the United States will be provided by aquaculturists. Although aquaculture is essential for food security, consumers have very little knowledge about this type of farming. There is also a lack of diversity and inclusion in the aquaculture space. Imani is on a mission to change all of this.

In 2020 Imani founded a nonprofit, Minorities in Aquaculture, to transform the industry. In today’s episode, she shares the progress that they have made so far and the exciting plans that they have for the future!

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Key Points From This Episode:

  • Imani’s educational background, and the life-changing experience that guided her into the aquaculture space.

  • Characteristics that make Chesapeake Bay a very special place.

  • What Imani’s 6 years as an oyster farmer consisted of.

  • Motivation behind the founding of Minorities in Aquaculture (MIA).

  • Exciting plans that Imani has for the future of MIA.

  • The vital role that aquaculture plays in food security.

  • Imani’s thoughts on how to enhance people’s knowledge around aquaculture.

  • Some of the initiatives that MIA is in the process of launching.

  • Barriers that have prevented women from thriving in the aquaculture industry.

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Tweetables:

“We have a mix of really good heritage and really good cultures around [Chesapeake Bay].” — @ImaniBlackMIA

“There was not a lot of solidarity among the aquaculture community when it came to diversity and inclusion and Black Lives Matter.” — @ImaniBlackMIA

“About 75% of the seafood that is imported into the United States comes from global aquaculture. That’s bringing in over $16.8 billion into the United States. It’s a huge industry already, and by probably 2050 aquaculture will be the only way for us to get seafood.” — @ImaniBlackMIA

“When it comes to the food security of our future, aquaculture is going to be the center point of that. People need to know where their seafood is coming from, how it’s being processed, how it’s being harvested, how it’s being handled.” — @ImaniBlackMIA

“We have to start exposing people and educating people and encouraging people to want to care about aquaculture, to want to care about our seafood resource.” — @ImaniBlackMIA

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Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Imani Black on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/imani-black-aa9ab1114/

Minorities in Aquaculture — https://www.mianpo.org/

Minorities in Aquaculture on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/mia_npo/?hl=en

Minorities in Aquaculture on Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/MinoritiesInAquaculture/

Minorities in Aquaculture on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/minorities-in-aquaculture-1a27361b8/

Minorities in Aquaculture on Twitter —https://mobile.twitter.com/mia_npo

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