Lyf Gildersleeve joined the Network for an online Waterside Chat with host Tom Sadler on March 10, 2026. Lyf is a second-generation fish monger who actively promotes and protects sustainable use of our seafood resources. He owns Flying Fish Company, a retail fish market, meat market, and oyster bar in Portland, Oregon and its nonprofit arm, Sustainable Fishmonger.

Among many topics, Lyf and Tom talked about:

• How cooking classes help bring people closer to their food so they can make better choices in the future
• Why it’s so important to move beyond the “big four” seafood species that dominate American tables
• How the regulatory framework created by the Magnuson Stevens Act creates an evolving framework that adds stability to coastal communities
• A new Monterrey Bay Aquarium program for restaurants that lets them put a label on menus for specific dishes made only with sustainable and environmentally responsible ingredients — which encourages customers to ask other restaurants about THEIR ingredients
• Why fishmongers feel such a connection to the sea, and why they’re the perfect messengers to educate chefs (and ultimately the public) about sustainable, local seafood options

And of course, much much more!

About Waterside Chat

The Marine Fish Conservation Network’s Waterside Chat series connects people who depend on healthy oceans and fisheries with the issues that directly affect them and their communities. Each episode the Network’s Deputy Director Tom Sadler talks with different guests about ocean policy and fisheries management topics. He engages them in genuine and thoughtful conversations about what policy decisions mean for people’s livelihoods, communities, recreation, and coastal ways of life. Join the Network’s email list to learn about future Chats. You can also watch past Chats and subscribe to the podcast on the Network’s website.

Jamie Workman joined host and Marine Fish Conservation Network Executive Director Tom Sadler for an online Waterside Chat on January 8, 2026. Jamie is an author, advocate and communicator whose work has focused on water and our relationship with it. His books include Heart of Dryness and the new Sea Change: Unlikely Allies and a Success Story of Oceanic Proportions.

In a wide-ranging discussion, Jamie and Tom talked about:

• How Jamie’s reporting helped stop a Disney theme park because there wasn’t enough water available
• How catch-share systems make fishing safer and encourage long-term stewardship
• Why such rights-based approaches to fisheries can build trust and confidence among people who would otherwise be fighting with each other, providing a model that can work in many places where people compete for scarce, depletable resources
• How scientists, advocates and fishermen can move from an adversarial to a symbiotic, collaborative relationship

And of course, much more!

ABOUT WATERSIDE CHATS:

Watch Waterside Chat videos or subscribe to the podcast.

The Marine Fish Conservation Network’s Waterside Chat series connects people who depend on healthy oceans and fisheries with the issues that directly affect them and their communities. Each episode the Network’s Deputy Director Tom Sadler talks with different guests about ocean policy and fisheries management topics. He engages them in genuine and thoughtful conversations about what policy decisions mean for people’s livelihoods, communities, recreation, and coastal ways of life.

Join the Network's email list to learn about future Waterside Chats.

Tim Bristol joined host Tom Sadler and the Marine Fish Conservation Network for an online Waterside Chat on March 4, 2025.

Tim is SalmonState’s executive director, and he has had a long career in environment conservation, having worked for Trout Unlimited in Alaska, the Alaska Coalition, the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, and the Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition. He is a recipient of the Alaska Conservation Foundation’s Olas Murie Award for outstanding professional contributions to conservation.

Tim and Waterside Chat host Tom Sadler talked about Tim’s conservation journey, his work with SalmonState, the campaigns SalmonState has going on, and what the next few years with a new congress and administration may entail. They covered:

• Why fishing with his father — and a childhood close to infamous Superfund site Love Canal — directed Tim towards conservation
• How recognition of the recreational value of forests helps us move away from logging-first and towards a mix of uses, including tourism, water quality, Native Alaskan subsistence AND logging
• How SalmonState, as a group of communicators, connectors and conveners, brings together abroad swath of communities, salmon markters, indigenous communities, commercial fishermen and more
• The importance of illustrating stories in a way that’s evocative — “The showing rather than telling is critical”
• Why bycatch is a massive threat to Alaska salmon, and why restraining it is not an easy problem to solve
• The importance of the Tongass, America’s “salmon forest”, whose economic value for fishing far outstrips the value that would be realized from logging or road-building
• Updates on mining activity that threatens Alaska salmon runs, including new uncertainty under the current administration

And of course, much much more!

ABOUT WATERSIDE CHATS:

Watch Waterside Chat videos or subscribe to the podcast.

The Marine Fish Conservation Network’s Waterside Chat series connects people who depend on healthy oceans and fisheries with the issues that directly affect them and their communities. Each episode the Network’s Deputy Director Tom Sadler talks with different guests about ocean policy and fisheries management topics. He engages them in genuine and thoughtful conversations about what policy decisions mean for people’s livelihoods, communities, recreation, and coastal ways of life.

Join the Network's email list to learn about future Waterside Chats.