The Field and Stream: Confronting PFAS in New England’s Wild and Aquatic Foods workshop (hosted by STEEP, the URI Coastal Institute, and Battelle) took place March 10-12, 2025, at the University of Rhode Island’s Bay Campus. The event convened researchers, policymakers, and community representatives to address the growing concern of PFAS contamination in seafood, shellfish, and wild game. With PFAS posing a persistent public health risk through bioaccumulation in the food chain, the workshop focused on risk assessment, regulatory challenges, and improving how these risks are communicated to the public.

Chief to discussion were myriad challenges related to providing the public with meaningful advisories that are scientifically accurate, nuanced to acknowledge the complexities of animal species and environmental factors, and reflective of the need for informed choice-making that weighs risks against the benefits eating fish, poultry, and other animal protein.

Participants shared insights on emerging research, contamination data, and the complexities of food advisories, highlighting the challenge of conveying risk in a way that is both accurate and accessible to different audiences. Discussions emphasized the difficulty of balancing scientific uncertainty with the need for clear guidance, as well as the struggle to ensure that risk communication is not only transparent but also actionable for consumers, policymakers, and those who rely on wild and aquatic foods.

Panel discussions and workgroups explored strategies to enhance monitoring programs and strengthen community engagement in PFAS-related decision-making. The event concluded with pulling together key takeaways and a plan to collaboratively develop a whitepaper summarizing key findings and recommendations. STEEP aims to play a key role in continuing to contribute to these efforts to ensure to ongoing research, policy action, and public awareness.