Why my work in sustainable seafood and coastal communities inspired me to build something new
I did not set out to start a coastal lifestyle brand.
I set out to understand how seafood supply chains could do better—for the ocean, for producers, and for the people whose lives and livelihoods are connected to the water.
For much of my career, that work has involved sustainability programs, certifications, responsible sourcing, human rights due diligence, and the complicated realities of moving seafood through global supply chains. It is meaningful work, and I remain deeply committed to it.
But some of the experiences that have stayed with me most did not begin in a conference room or inside a spreadsheet. They happened when I had the opportunity to sit with people in fishing communities, listen to their stories, and see how environmental stewardship, culture, creativity, and economic opportunity intersect in everyday life.
One of those experiences came through my work with Iberostar, where I was inspired by efforts to strengthen connections with local communities and elevate the people whose knowledge and work are closely tied to coastal destinations.
That work reinforced something I had already begun to understand: sustainability is not only about how a resource is harvested or whether a product meets a standard. It is also about who participates, whose knowledge is valued, who benefits, and whether local people have meaningful opportunities to build more resilient livelihoods.
Learning from Aliança Kirimurȇ
In Brazil, I had the opportunity to learn about Aliança Kirimurȇ, a network of fishers and shellfish gatherers supported through a project developed by Humana Brasil.
The initiative worked with approximately 1,250 families across 30 communities in nine coastal cities surrounding Baía de Todos os Santos. Covering roughly 1,223 square kilometers, it is the largest bay in Brazil and a place where fishing, shellfish gathering, culture, and community life have been connected for generations.
Aliança Kirimurȇ was created to organize and strengthen a network of producers, community leaders, and fishing organizations. Its purpose was not simply to provide short-term assistance. It was to help people work together across the regional fishing production chain, improve production quality, strengthen local leadership, and build greater capacity within the communities themselves.
I was particularly inspired by the women.
Women in fishing communities are often essential to harvesting, processing, selling, organizing, and sustaining family and community life. Yet their contributions are not always recognized with the same visibility given to other parts of the seafood sector.
Meeting women fishers, shellfish gatherers, community leaders, and artisans made the idea of “supporting coastal communities” feel much more personal and much more practical.
What stayed with me was not one specific product or project. It is what becomes possible when women are organized, connected, recognized for their skills, and given better access to markets and opportunities.
That lesson followed me home.
An idea that kept growing
Over the years, my work and travels introduced me to women transforming fish scales, retired fishing nets, shells, fish leather, textiles, and other locally available materials into jewelry, bags, accessories, and art.
These pieces were not interesting only because they were made from unexpected materials. They reflected ingenuity, identity, craftsmanship, and a deep connection to place.
I kept thinking about how difficult it can be for small artisan groups to reach customers outside their immediate communities. A beautiful product may exist, but that does not automatically create access to photography, storytelling, international shipping, online sales, or new markets.
At the same time, my sister Annabelle and I have always enjoyed discovering unusual things—pieces with personality, original designs, and objects that make people stop and ask, “Where did you find that?”
Eventually, those two parts of my life came together.
We began asking ourselves: What if we created a platform that could share these discoveries while helping independent makers and women artisans reach new customers?
That question became Catch of the Day & Co.
Building it with my sister
Catch of the Day & Co. is very much a family project.
Annabelle brings her creativity, eye for design and love of crafting. I bring my experience in seafood sustainability, responsible sourcing, and the relationships and ideas I have gathered through years of working across fisheries and supply chains.
Together, we are building a purpose-driven coastal lifestyle brand featuring apparel, accessories, original art, artisan-made goods, children’s items, and unexpected finds.
Some pieces come from people we meet during our travels. Some are created in collaboration with artists and small businesses. Our apparel is printed locally, and we are exploring recycled, organic, and other more responsible materials where they are available and financially realistic.
We are not trying to become a luxury boutique, and we are not interested in filling shelves with disposable products simply because they are inexpensive or trendy.
We want Catch of the Day & Co. to feel accessible, expressive, slightly rebellious, and full of stories.
Women of the Water
The collection closest to the heart of this idea is Women of the Water.
It is an evolving collection featuring women makers whose creativity is connected to fishing, coastal communities, or materials recovered from seafood and fishing activities.
We are beginning with work from women artisans in Brazil. In southern Brazil, artisans from a traditional fishing community transform retired shrimp nets, fish scales, and fish leather into jewelry, bags, and accessories. Nets that spent seasons exposed to water and sun are collected, cleaned, separated, and worked into usable fiber. Fish scales are washed, prepared, shaped, and assembled into delicate pieces of bio-jewelry.
The pieces are beautiful, but beauty is only one part of their value. Each one represents knowledge, labor, resourcefulness, and an opportunity for a woman to earn income from her creativity.
I also want to be careful about how we tell these stories.
This is not about presenting women as passive beneficiaries of someone else’s generosity. They are skilled makers, entrepreneurs, fishers, organizers, and creators. Our role is to listen, respect how they work, understand what they can realistically produce, and help connect their work with customers who will appreciate it.
We are still learning how to build those relationships well. That includes navigating pricing, production capacity, customs, shipping, language differences, and the realities of importing small orders.
There is nothing simple about it—but that is part of what makes it real.
A wider collection of stories
Catch of the Day & Co. also reflects the many ways inspiration can travel.
Our From Türkiye with Love collection features distinctive jewelry made by a small, family-owned business in Istanbul. I first discovered the work while walking through the Grand Bazaar, where the designs stood out among thousands of pieces.
Catch Studio brings together original art and creative work inspired by coastal life.
Ocean Rebels offers graphic apparel for people who love the water but do not necessarily identify with the polished, predictable version of coastal style.
Gone Coastal is developing around relaxed, timeless pieces for travel and everyday living.
Even our Kids’ Corner has become a family affair, with my children helping to make bracelets and accessories, contributing ideas for stickers and apparel, and bringing their own creativity into the project.
Different collections, different makers, different places—but the same underlying idea: beautiful things can create meaningful connections.
Sustainability in another form
Launching this company has also made me think differently about my own sustainability work.
In the seafood sector, we often focus on standards, verification, improvement programs, risk assessments, and supply-chain data. Those tools matter.
But sustainability also lives in questions such as:
- Can a woman artisan reach customers beyond her community?
- Can discarded materials be transformed into something useful?
- Can a small producer participate in a market without being overwhelmed by its requirements?
- Can businesses create commercial relationships that recognize skill rather than treating people as beneficiaries?
- Can we build products and partnerships at a pace that respects both people and resources?
Catch of the Day & Co. will not solve the systemic challenges facing fishing communities. I would never make that claim.
What it can do is create one more point of connection—between makers and customers, between discarded materials and new uses, and between the stories I have encountered through my professional work and the choices people make in everyday life.
Sometimes impact begins with policy or procurement.
Sometimes it begins with a fishing net, a pair of earrings, a conversation between sisters, and the decision to try something new.
Our next chapter
After months of ideas, sourcing, conversations, creative work, and more logistical lessons than I expected, Annabelle and I are excited to launch Catch of the Day & Co. on October 17.
If you have followed my work through Seafood Ninja, advised me, collaborated with me, challenged my thinking, or shared your own experiences from coastal communities and seafood supply chains, you are already part of the path that brought me here.
I would love for you to visit catchofthedayco.com, explore the collections, and learn about the people behind the pieces.
You can support us by shopping, sharing the story, following along, asking questions, or connecting us with women makers and small coastal businesses whose work deserves to be discovered.
All orders currently include free shipping, and the launch is also a good opportunity to get an early start on meaningful holiday gifts.
This is a new kind of adventure for me—but it is rooted in work I have cared about for years.
Inspired by the Ocean. Designed for Change.