Oregon’s first Blue Foods Forum brought together chefs, scientists, artists, and entrepreneurs to explore new ways of connecting ocean health with coastal livelihoods. In the months since, that gathering has sparked real change, launching new seafood products, creative collaborations, and innovative ventures that are redefining what it means to build a truly sustainable blue economy on the Oregon Coast.

A tour to learn about the abundant fisheries and unique aquaculture operations of the Oregon Coast. Split between Port Orford and Bandon, this was a very full day of learning about sustainable seafood!

Sea Wolf Books offered an ocean-centric poetry-writing station with poetic inspiration and writing prompts available to folks of all ages during our Winter Waters Weekend in Port Orford, Oregon. As promised, we have published the poetry written here!

Winter Waters is made our first-ever journey to the Southern Oregon Coast, landing in the gem of a fishing village, Port Orford! A huge thank you to Discover Port Orford, Port Orford Main Street, and Travel Curry Coast for sponsoring Winter Waters on the South coast.

We had a blast in Port Orford at SeaFest, a fun, free, family-friendly event at Mr. Ed’s Underground Pub. The afternoon event celebrated local seafare and the people who make it all possible.

We loved bringing Winter Waters to Eugene this year! Thank you to ColdFire Brewing for hosting us for a pint night with seaweed + seafood dishes from Cece, the pescatarian food cart stationed a the brewery, by Sierra Mickey.

A Winter Waters dinner along the Nehalem River, enjoying local food, plenty of seaweed and oysters, with views of the coastal mountain range!

Chef Jonathan Jones hosted guest chef Enrique Sanchez Rodriguez, from Newport’s Local Ocean Seafoods at Epilogue Kitchen, in it’s new home in South Salem. Both these chefs have participated in Winter Waters events in the past, we were excited for the opportunity to join them together for this special collaboration dinner.

Chef Maylin Chávez of Nácar Oysters joined Chef Mark Doxtader at Tastebud, in Multnomah Village for a special night of seaweed-centric bites and special dishes including sea-focused pizzas, breads and salads from the team of Tastebud, and raw bar with a Baja twist from Chef Maylin.

Seven local Oregon breweries crafting seaweed beers specifically for the February Winter Waters dining series, so we decided to get them all in the same bar so you can try them side by side.

Chef Ian Grant of Savvy Food Co and Chef U’ilaniku’ulei Vele of The Hoxton, took over the Lovely Rita kitchen for a night of ocean delicacies with a focus on seaweed and local sustainable seafood.

This 5-course dinner showcased the abundance of the Oregon coast and creative techniques, cultural heritage and expertise of these chefs.

We had no doubt this would be another wonderful and cozy weekend at Nekst Event, hosted by the incredible owners Jen and Chef Chris Holen! This dinner was the same weekend as the annual Fisherpoets Gathering in Astoria, OR, and it was so wonderful to see so many fisherman and poets enjoying the evening and venturing into Nekst, an Astoria classic, for the very first time. 

On the evening of Thursday, February 20, 2025, at the cozy venue Union Pine in Portland, we celebrated the final act of our three-day Blue Foods Forum with the Seafaring Speakeasy — a spirited, sea-centric gathering of community, creativity, and culinary craft.

In February 2025, Oregon’s first Blue Foods Forum brought together an extraordinary mix of chefs, economists, artisans, food innovators, marine scientists and ocean advocates for three days of hands-on industry collaboration and culinary inspiration.  

Set against the creative backdrop of the Ecotrust Redd East event venue in SE Portland, this action-driven gathering invited participants to explore how Oregon’s ocean-based foods — from wild seafood to regenerative seaweeds — can contribute to a more sustainable, resilient, and delicious local food future.

We brought Winter Waters Ocean Trivia back to Flying Fish Co. for the 2025 series, and had a hoot! We enjoyed dulse hush putties and seaweed beer over a couple rounds of trivia.

The Feast of the Local Fishes was another unforgettable seafare celebration—perched over the water with panoramic views of Tillamook Bay, where guests enjoyed incredible food while learning about Oregon’s sustainable fisheries.

A last-minute visit to the tide pools at the base of Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach turned out to be the best decision. It’s rare for a winter low tide to align during daylight hours, and even more rare for it to come without wild ocean conditions.

As part of our Winter Waters x Cannon Beach takeover weekend, Winter Waters teamed up with Fed by Blue for a screening of Hope in the Water followed by a deep dive on the Blue Foods industry with some Oregon experts. Hope in the Water is a PBS series about the Blue Foods industry that features kelp farming, urchin ranching, sustainable shrimp farms, and more!

We loved making seaweed cyanotypes so much last year, that we decided to do it again! A hands-on interaction day playing with dried seaweed specimens and creating art to take home.