Our next installment of Sotterley Presents: People and Perspectives will take place virtually on May 24th. The seafood industry has rapidly grown over the last few decades, while natural seafood resources have slowly decreased. Imani Black, founder of Minorities in Aquaculture, will explore the opportunities presented by aquaculture, farming seafood like oysters in a sustainable way.

Imani Black was born and raised on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in Chestertown. She has always had a passion for restoration and conservation since she was a young girl and found great interest in the rapidly growing shellfish aquaculture industry, after completing an aquaculture training program at Virginia Institute of Marine Science in 2016. Since then, Imani has worked on oyster farms, nurseries and hatcheries along the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Maryland. From 2018 to 2020, she was the Assistant Hatchery Manager for Hoopers Island Oyster Company, having the opportunity to work in all aspects of shellfish growout.

Through her love for her career, Imani founded Minorities In Aquaculture, a nonprofit organization that strives to empower and support women of color in the aquaculture industry by educating women of traditional watermen legacy and heritage in coastal communities while providing opportunities such as paid internship, technical skills training and career development resources in the new wave of commercial fisheries. In addition to developing the nonprofit, Imani is also pursuing a Master’s degree at the University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science researching the historical minority engagement in commercial fisheries in the Chesapeake Bay.

Register Here!