MEET OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Barbara Garrity-Blake, board chair, is a cultural anthropologist specializing in the people side of fisheries. She teaches Marine Fisheries Policy at Duke University Marine Lab, drawing from her experience as a former member of the state Marine Fisheries Commission and other boards and committees. Barbara is a co-founder of the Wild Caught Local Seafood & Music Festival in Gloucester, N.C. She, along with Susan West, also co-founded  Raising the Story. The blog shares stories in support of community-supported, sustainably caught North Carolina seafood.

Jess Hawkins, is a non-voting member of the NC Catch board who advises our organization on upcoming fisheries policy and legislation.  He grew up exploring Pamlico River near Bath, N.C. Working for 30 years at the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, Jess studied the ecology of marine creatures and recommended measures to protect them. He has won the N.C. Governor's Award for Wildlife Conservationist of the Year and Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest civilian award for public service presented by the governor. He teaches all things fisheries aboard Crystal Coast Ecotours in Carteret County.

Laura Ritter, strategic marketing, brand champion, business consultant, is a tireless volunteer working to bring North Carolina seafood to the forefront of consumers' minds. Laura was involved in the development of the first regional Catch group, Carteret Catch. As a member of the NC Catch Marketing & Communications Committee, she helps manage projects, direct messaging and achieve strategic goals.

Vicki Basnight, commercial fisherman, fishes the Outer Banks and helps manage her family's famous Basnight’s Lone Cedar Café in Nags Head. The menu names commercial fishermen who supply the catch. Vicki runs her own soft-shell crab shedding operation at the restaurant. The Basnight family has long been devoted to preserving North Carolina’s coastal water quality and commercial fishing heritage. Vicki’s father, the late N.C. Senator Pro Tempore Marc Basnight, dedicated his life to community service. Basnight’s opened in 1996 to draw attention to N.C. seafood and the families who supply it.

Nathan King, retail/wholesale seafood market owner & commercial fisherman, co-owns Seaview Crab Company,  which in 2023 was named a Business North Carolina magazine Small Business of the year. Nathan is one of three founders who started as crab potters selling their catch from roadside stands. Nathan, who holds an ocean engineering degree from Virginia Tech, not only helped create one of the state's best seafood markets, with locations in and around Wilmington, N.C., he is an important voice in state's seafood industry and a seafood marketing innovator.

Jimmy Johnson, coastal habitats coordinator, works closely with efforts to implement and educate the public about North Carolina’s Coastal Habitat Protection Plan and the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership. A longtime Albemarle-Pamlico region resident, Jimmy owned and operated Washington Crab Company in Washington, N.C., for 15 years. From 1998 to 2005, he served as chairman of the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission.

Ryan Speckman, retail seafood market owner, holds a degree in fisheries science and co-owns and co-founded Locals Seafood based in Durham, with outlets at Triangle-area farmers markets including Raleigh, Cary and Chapel Hill. Locals Seafood was established in 2010 with the mission of bringing North Carolina seafood to inland North Carolina residents.

Tyrone Hightower, retail seafood market owner,  operates  Apex Seafood & Market and grew up freshwater fishing in Warren County, N.C. After earning a degree in animal science, he worked as a veterinary assistant/technician doing everything from emergency care to exotic animal medicine, including sea turtles. Along the way, Tyrone talked to many people who wanted fresh, local seafood but didn't want to travel all the way to the coast to get it. With a deep understanding of aquatic species, their nutritional value and how to determine superior seafood quality, Tyrone decided to start his market.

Ken Riley, is  a previous chair of the N.C. Seafood Festival board. He continues working with NC Catch to make local seafood and the N.C. commercial fishing industry central to the nation's largest seafood festival. Ken also helps grow communities that support commercial fishing and aquaculture. A NOAA science advisor, he is formally trained in aquaculture and fisheries with a masters degree from Louisiana State University and a doctorate from East Carolina University.

Micah Daniels, retail/wholesale seafood market owner and commercial fisherman, has appeared on National Geographic’s “Wicked Tuna.” She and her husband run Fresh Catch Seafood in Wanchese, N.C. Micah comes from a family whose fish houses date to 1936. She has worked in the seafood business since she was a kid. Micah stays busy but still finds time to teach people what it’s really like to be a commercial fisherman. She is among the strongest, proudest voices for preserving N.C.’s commercial fishing heritage. “If you don’t say something,” Micah says, “you’re soon not going to have anything to say something for.”

Kris Noble, Hyde County manager, embodies the spirit of North Carolina's commercial fishing communities. The family of this lifelong Hyde County resident stretches back for generations in Swan Quarter. Kris is a strong voice for local seafood and fisheries policy at the local and state level. She has worked in Hyde County’s government for several years and is deeply aware of the important role commercial fishing and the seafood industry plays in North Carolina's economy.

Jason Hall, board vice chair, retail/wholesale seafood market owner.
“The food’s coming out of the local waters. It’s being touched by folks here in the state. This is how they make their living. This is how we make our living,” the owner of Washington Crab told Our State magazine in 2023. Jason fell in love with North Carolina while he was stationed at Fort Bragg. He took over 50-plus-year-old Washington Crab in 2020. "Seafood’s a big part of North Carolina, especially eastern North Carolina. To be a part of that — to have the name of the town in our company’s name — means a lot to us.”

Stephen Spruill, commercial fisherman, grew up on a farm on Bulls Bay in Tyrell, N.C., but his heart was in fishing. By the time he was 16, he never looked back. “When everybody went back to school in the fall, I wanted to go to Manns Harbor to crab. I ended up working as a mate on a couple of boats down there until I was comfortable enough to crab with my own rig down there.” Today Stephen runs Bay Brothers Seafood in Plymouth, N.C.

John Aydlett, N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, is a non-voting NC Catch board member who advises our organization on seafood marketing. As North Carolina's Got To Be NC Seafood marketing specialist, John works with both seafood and aquaculture producers to help them market their products. You’ll see John at festivals, trade shows, networking with producers and distributing local seafood marketing materials to grocers and seafood retailers.

Shelby White,  Virginia Institute of Marine Science marine business specialist,  works in Virginia but lives in North Carolina. The position reflects the two states’ close natural bonds when it comes to fisheries. Shelby serves as a liaison for various industries, including commercial fishing, seafood processing, aquaculture and working waterfronts. She is actively involved in Virginia's Young Fishermen's Initiative, a program that provides training to individuals interested in the commercial fishing industry. Her research projects have looked at blue catfish and factors that influence participation in and diversification of Virginia’s small-scale commercial fisheries.