2025 Local Seafood Summit

Charting a Course for Community-Based Seafood Systems

Gulf Shores, Alabama | November 9-12, 2025

About the Summit

The 2025 Local Seafood Summit is a practitioner-centric gathering for all those who are working to strengthen community-based seafood systems at the local, regional, and national scales. The summit aims to foster new connections, facilitate knowledge exchange, and create space for strategic dialogue about the tools, services, research, and policies needed to elevate the role of seafood in food systems and support resilient and vibrant coastal communities. Seafood harvesters, entrepreneurs, researchers, decision-makers, and community change-agents are welcome.

Goals

The goals of the summit are to:

(1) Facilitate knowledge exchange and peer-to-peer learning;

(2) Create networking opportunities for Local Catch Network members and allied partners;

(3) Strengthen the local seafood sector by way of technical assistance and trainings; and

(4) Elevate key and emerging issues and opportunities to strengthen local and regional food systems

2025 Summit Details

Audience

We are expecting 200-300 attendees at the 2025 Local Seafood Summit from across the United States, Canada, and affiliated islands. Participants will have a range of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives related to community-based fisheries and seafood systems. What makes our events impactful is that everyone in the “room” brings knowledge and expertise.

Agenda at a Glance

November 9

Early Registration (4 PM)

Welcome Social Event

November 10

Registration (8 AM)

Day 1 Sessions

Seafood Dinner

November 10

Day 2 Sessions

Summit Closing

November 11

Optional Field trips (1-3 days)

Travel & Lodging

Lodging

The Local Seafood Summit will be hosted at The Lodge at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama, November 9-12, 2025. The venue overlooks the Gulf of Mexico and is within driving distance of fishing communities across the region. Gulf State Park has a wide range of accommodations available onsite, including a lodge (where the Summit will be held), cabins, and a campground:

Lodge at Gulf State Park: We have reserved a block of rooms at a discounted rate at the Lodge at Gulf State Park. Rooms are limited, so book your room as soon as possible in order to secure a discounted rate. Please use Group Code 94G.
- The discount code is available until October 18 or until the group block is full.
- Reservations can be made by calling 1-800-618-4350 or online .
- Instructions for Guests wishing to check availability to extend their stay for additional contracted nights:
  - Edit travel dates at the top of the landing page, then click the UPDATE icon
  - If the requested dates are not available at the group rate, reach out to Central Reservations at 1-800-618-4350 and mention your group code 94G for assistance.
Cabins at Gulf State Park: For those who are interested in more space and/or sharing space with others, there are several cabins available at Gulf State Park.
Campground at Gulf State Park: There is a large campground at Gulf State Park with hundreds of campsites available. https://reserve.alapark.com/gulf/campsites

There are also other rental options (studios, condos, houses) in Gulf Shores. You can search for rentals on VRBO and AirBnB.

Flights & Transportation

The Lodge at Gulf State Park is within driving distance of multiple airports:

Pensacola International Airport (1 hour)
Mobile International Airport (1 hour and 15 minutes)
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (3 hours and 30 minutes)

More information about transportation to and from local airports will be posted this summer.

Scholarships

We are committed to lessening barriers for participation for our programming, including the seafood summit, by providing scholarships to practitioners to help off-set the cost of attending the summit. Priority for financial support was given to seafood harvesters and other related attendees. If you would like to be considered for a scholarship, please fill out the following form.

Field Trip

We will be offering multiple post-summit field trips that participants can sign-up for on a first-come, first-serve basis. Additional details about these trips will be posted as the information is available.

Swag Swap & Silent Auction

We encourage participants to bring “swag” to share with participants or donate items for our silent auction.

Guidelines

Bring promotional swag or auction items to the Summit
There will be two sections including swaps and silent auction:
- - In the swaps section, leave something that you would like to share with others.
  - Feeling charitable? Donate something to the Local Catch Silent Auction.
Drop off your swag or auction items at the designated table during registration
Be mindful of space and bring what you and others can easily transport.

What should you bring?

Items with your business logo including t-shirts, hats, mugs, etc.
Paper items like newsletters, annual reports, research papers, etc.
Shelf-stable, packaged seafood products, like canned salmon, dried seaweed
Artwork, poetry, books, creative expressions
A CSF subscription or gift cards
Other items are also welcome!

Community Agreements

Some of the most critical conversations networks have can be challenging. We have collectively created summit community agreements that aim to create emotional safety and trust amongst the group.

Credit for context, definitions, and agreements can be attributed to First Alaskans Institute, the National Equity Project, and Summit attendees.

Call for Session Proposals

We welcome session proposals for the summit. Sessions led by presenters with direct hands-on experiences are particularly appreciated. Please use this form to submit your proposal. Proposals are due by May 17, 2025.

Registration

Registration for the 2025 Local Seafood Summit is now open. Please register by May 1, 2025 to take advantage of the Early Registration Rate.