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Presidential Award of Excellence, 2011

Ken La Valley wants you to know more about the fish that thrive off ��ʤ������’s seacoast, and the historic industry that relies on them. And if it takes a little butter, bread crumbs, and a skillet to ease the introduction, well, all the better.

La Valley is a ��ʤ������ Sea Grant Extension professor of biological sciences and a commercial fisheries and aquaculture specialist. Recently named associate director at Sea Grant, he has a passion for promoting research and creating collaborations to support the region’s fishing industry.

So La Valley works tirelessly to develop innovative links between ��ʤ������ researchers, ��ʤ������ fishermen, and consumers. One result: It’s far easier now to find locally- and sustainably-caught seafood in the region’s grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and restaurants. You might even recognize the “��ʤ������ Fresh and Local” label on the next pound of haddock, bluefish, or shrimp you buy.

“I’m passionate for the research and work that is bringing locally- and sustainably-caught fish to the end-user,” La Valley says.

La Valley brings a rare blend of industry experience, scholarship, field research, and public policy insights to the field. Before joining ��ʤ������ in 2004, he worked for 11 years at Spinney Creek Shellfish in Eliot, Maine, where he was director of research and development (and not above cleaning out shellfish holding tanks, or loading crates onto trucks).

He now works with the Northeast Consortium, created by ��ʤ������ in 1999 to encourage partnerships that span from research lab to fishing boat to dinner plate. Their efforts are helping to develop local seafood markets, reduce unwanted “by-catch,” promote safer fishing, and clean up ocean debris. La Valley is also assisting the Yankee Fisherman’s Cooperative in building a new fish processing plant in Seabrook.

“Over the last decade, especially with the Northeast Consortium, we’ve really seen a shift in how the fishing industry is viewed,” La Valley says. “The industry here is really seen more as collaborators now, bringing their expertise on the water and their historical knowledge to the table of science.”