Mel Carrasquillo – Program Manager

 Mel Carrasquillo has been described as being one of the industry’s “most passionate and energetic” sustainability advocates in Southern California. Mel first became enamored with the concept of well-managed seafood when she visited her father-in-law’s seafood processing facility in South Africa. It was seeing the process firsthand, from acquiring product freshly caught by dayboat handline fisherment to the processing team’s expert cutting and packaging, which forged an indelible mark of pride and enthusiasm in her for community fisheries.

In her previous role as Chief Sustainability Officer at City Sea Foods, Mel assisted some of the nation’s largest seafood users, including Holland America Lines and Marriott International, in developing and implementing sustainable seafood programs for company-wide use. Under her direction, City Sea Foods realized over an 100 percent increase in the sales of local, well-managed seafoods.

The Aquarium of the Pacific recognized her expertise in streamlining the flow of information from scientific research to practical applications in real-world settings by naming her Program Manager here at Seafood for the Future. Utilizing data from NOAA and the FAO, as well as the team of talented marine biologists at the Aquarium, she assists chefs, purchasers, distributors, and corporations alike in sourcing well-managed seafood and integrating sustainable practices into their companies’ structures. In an effort to increase community outreach and incite long-term change, Melissa conducts sustainability seminars and events to educate consumers and industry professionals, works directly with Southern California fishermen to raise awareness of local fishing communities, and promotes the use of local and imported well-managed seafoods throughout the channel.