This publication was never really meant to be a book. We started with a simple question from Kate Masury, director of Eating with the Ecosystem: How can we get more people to eat the whole fish?

Over the next two years, we explored the contours of our local seafood industry, searching high and low for stories that could help us find an answer to that question.

An interview with fishmonger Stu Meltzer revealed that if there is no demand to buy fish whole, stores can’t afford to stock them. Jason Jarvis, a commercial fisherman in RI, explained that without demand from fish markets and chefs, it doesn’t make economic sense to catch them. A conversation with chef David Standridge explained that diners have a fear of eating whole fish that is hard to get over. But once they do, an entirely new world of dining opens up. And for him, it even won his restaurant, the Shipwrights Daughter, a James Beard award.

But to bring whole fish into the everyday rotation of home cooking, we knew we needed a document that could both inspire people to eat whole fish and serve as an instructional guide of how to process, handle, and cook a whole fish with confidence.

And so, what started as a 24-page zine became a 200-page whole fish manifesto on the whys and hows of whole fish cookery. And thank god it did.

ETWF is jam-packed with everything you need to begin your whole fish journey.

Part 1 is full of stories from our seafood industry’s best and brightest. We’re incredibly proud to feature chefs Sky Kim and Ben Sukle from Gift Horse, Sherry Pocknett from Sly Fox Den, and David Standridge from the Shipwrights Daughter, fishmonger Stu Meltzer from Fearless Fish, fisheries scientist Dave Bethoney, and commercial fisherman and food sovereignty activist Jason Jarvis. Together, they reflect on our seafood industry, food culture, and what it might take to change the way we eat.

Part 2 is our Whole Fish 101. It includes a dozen anatomical diagrams of local species to help you get familiar with these mysterious and delicious little creatures. Then we move into illustrated instructions for preparing a whole fish—including gutting, scaling, and removing the fins—and eating one, including how to flake the meat from the bone like a pro.

Part 3 is a short and sweet collection of recipes from our family and friends, all from cultures around the world. Some highlights include a steamed scallion-ginger fish recipe from Annie’s mom, a soy-braised mackerel stew from Zoe’s grandma, and a Caribbean fish head stew (or tea) from our friend and collaborator Zion.

We end the book with a series of photos we took during our whole fish party, a very intimate gathering of friends and family where we tested recipes for the book.

Our pre-order link is live now! We’ll be sharing more about stockists and upcoming events soon.

PRE-ORDER HERE ⭐️

Xoxo,

Annie & Zoe

Follow us on instagram (@beam.earth) to stay up to date!

Eating the Whole Fish is a collaboration between BEAM and Eating with the Ecosystem. This project was made possible in part through support from the Interlace Grant Fund, a regranting partner of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

How might we craft a resource that makes eating the whole fish more accessible, fun, and culturally relevant to our local communities—and carry the deeper story of why it matters?

The critical gap was clear: knowledge and access. For many Rhode Islanders—especially white, American-born families—eating the whole fish is a cultural leap. But for our diasporic communities, it’s nothing new. We grew up with it. The heads, the bones, the skins—these were not scraps, but delicious treasures we battled our siblings for.

We set out to make a scrappy, 24-page zine on whole-fish cookery, focused on Rhode Island’s under loved local species. But one question led to another, and soon we were chasing the story through supply chains and supper clubs, kitchens and boats, markets and restaurants. We interviewed chefs, scientists, fishers, and fishmongers; photographed scup and seabass on our kitchen floor; tested recipes on friends; and hosted a dinner party. What began as a how-to guide snowballed into a 200-page seafood anthology.

Saving the ocean might just taste like Tuesday night—a weeknight dinner, the ritual of home cooking, a meal shared with friends. In the face of climate collapse, maybe the most radical act starts right there. Maybe it starts with just one (whole) fish.

Eating the Whole Fish will be released this November. We’ll share more about how to pre-order soon :)

Until then, check back here for behind the scenes stories, sneak peeks of spreads, and an occasional recipe to get you started.

Xoxo,

Annie + Zoe

BEAM

Ps. We’re also hosting a launch party November 15th in NYC. For more information, please check out this link ✨

Want to learn more? Subscribe here:

Subscribe now

Welcome to Field Notes by BEAM — our public notebook of experiments, projects, and lessons from running a creative studio for climate innovation.

We’re Annie and Zoe. Together we run BEAM, work as research affiliates at the MIT Media Lab, and are members of the New Museum’s NEW INC incubator. In the last few years, we’ve bounced between science labs, design studios, and coastal communities — working with everyone from NASA and NOAA to artists, activists, and educators. The throughline? Connecting the dots between science and people.

We started BEAM because we couldn’t find a place for the kind of Climate Design* we wanted to do — work that connects research with real communities, builds public trust, and sparks collective action. So we built it ourselves. Since then, we’ve landed in projects, partnerships, and adventures we never could have planned.

Here, you’ll get the behind-the-scenes version: essays on what it’s like to run BEAM, deep dives into our projects, and the occasional story from the field. If you’re a designer, scientist, or just climate-curious (hi, mom), subscribe and come along.

Subscribe now

*Climate Design — an imperfect definition we’re still shaping. We use the term to push beyond the narrow view of design in the climate space as just branding or bio-materials. For us, climate design means using creative work to connect science with people, strengthen community autonomy, and build public trust in science — exploring deeper, more impactful ways design can serve the climate transition.

More can be found on our Climate Design newsletter, Symbiotica!