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Today, 91ֱ����Ƶstudents  had the opportunity to experience sharck bites. Yes, sharck bites with a “c.”

The University’s dining service provider, Sodexo, launched a new menu item that celebrates its recent sign-on with the Gulf of Maine Responsibly Harvested® program offered by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI), a nonprofit organization that aims to grow demand for seafood from the Gulf of Maine that meets criteria around responsible harvesting.

Named “Sharck Bites,” the new offering is similar to a chicken nugget, but it is made from cape shark, which is one of five underutilized species that GMRI promotes though awareness building campaigns. Sodexo held a roll out event for the bites on October 28 from 10:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Biddeford Campus’ Decary Dining Hall, where representatives from UNE’s Marine Science Center were on hand to educate students on the importance of serving responsibly harvested seafood from the Gulf of Maine in UNE’s dining facilities.

Regional and local leadership at Sodexo made a commitment in June to incrementally shift its source of whitefish to Gulf of Maine Responsibly Harvested seafood for all of its 32 Maine clients.

Several UNE-GMRI-Sodexo connections preceded the dining service company’s decision to join the Gulf of Maine Responsibly Harvested program. Sodexo began a relationship with GMRI in its exploration of several key initiatives. GMRI is also partnering with 91ֱ����Ƶon a federal NOAA grant that was originally organized by James Sulikowski, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Marine Sciences. As part of the grant, Barry Costa-Pierce, Ph.D., Henry L. & Grace Doherty professor and chair of the Department of Marine Sciences and director of the Marine Science Center, along with Adam St. Gelais, 91ֱ����Ƶassistant research scientist and coordinator of the SEAFISH program, conducted contaminant testing on cape sharks.

Additionally, Susan Farady, J.D., assistant professor of ocean studies and marine affairs, brought Gulf of Maine Responsibly Harvested brand manager Kyle Foley to her Science and Society class, during a unit on sustainable seafood and consumer information and sources. Sitting in on the class was Robby Hebert, Sodexo’s production manager at UNE, who later that month spoke to the same class on Sodexo’s implementation of its sustainable seafood initiative and the specific opportunities presented by college campus clients. “All of the conversations that were going on started to converge and led to GMRI working with regional Sodexo staff,” said Foley.

Sodexo’s commitment to the Gulf of Maine Responsibly Harvested program means that by the end of this year at least 20 percent of the whitefish it serves to its Maine clients will be Gulf of Maine Responsibly Harvested, and by 2020 that figure will rise to 100 percent.

The growing focus on seafood sustainability in the 91ֱ����Ƶdining hall in combination with the success of Farady’s class spurred her and Carrie Byron, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Marine Sciences, to create a new course at 91ֱ����Ƶthat will be offered in the spring of 2015. “What’s on Your Plate? Food systems: Seafood, Science and Society” will be a First Year Experience course, open only to freshmen. Among many other things regarding seafood consumption, health and sustainability, the course will explore how UNE’s food services address seafood sustainability in campus dining choices.

“The timing of UNE’s food service provider going to sustainably sourced seafood as we’re teaching a class is great,” said Farady. “It will put some real-world experience of classroom knowledge in front of the students where they eat, literally on their plate.”