Have you ever had a rude awakening? One of those brutal mental explosions that shatters a lovely, comfortable fantasy?

Have you ever stared at the seafood on your plate or in packages at the store and been overwhelmed by thoughts of, where did it come from? And which is supposed to be better – wild or farmed, fresh or frozen, big or little?

If you’re like most of us, you eat about fifteen pounds of seafood per year, the majority of which is shrimp; you probably don’t know that 90% of your seafood (especially shrimp) is farmed or imported from overseas, and that there can be big issues with that.

There’s your rude awakening.

My name is Julianna, and I’m the marine biologist here to help with “Shrimp Tales,” a blog dedicated to pulling back the curtain on our seafood.

I specialize in fisheries, which is a catchall term to describe the study of everything that goes into catching (or farming) fish. I love it because everyone—literally everyone—has some kind of link to fisheries, which means I get to work with scientists, chefs, business owners, engineers, fishermen, and foodies, some of whom I’ll introduce you to through this blog.

I know, I know… yet another blog. But here’s why you should bother reading:

1. I guarantee that no matter how far inland you live, you have daily interactions with the ocean and the food that comes from it, and the more you know, the better your choices
2. Because you don’t know whether to pick farmed or wild or read the confusing labels, and that annoys you, and you need resolution
   -Also Googling takes too long when you’re standing in the frozen food aisle
3. My guest bloggers (hint: award-winning chefs) will help elevate your cooking and eating game
4. You dreamed of being a marine biologist when you grew up, and you want to hear how awesome it is in case of that midlife crisis occupation change.

I’ll be posting a few times a month about everything from seafood preparation to recipes to marine science to sustainability.

Stay tuned for next time, where I’ll tell you a tale of one of the world’s most valuable and popular shellfish: the almighty shrimp.