Engaging the seafood consumer
Commercial Fishing Media asks a simple and very direct question. The loss of the public’s access to seafood goes hand in hand with groups that are so called ‘key’ stakeholders in the fisheries management system. Industry is well aware of the impact environmental and recreational fishing groups have on our access as well as poor government policy making.
Consumer access is at stake because:
- By reducing commercial net fishing consumers will have less access to fresh, local caught fish.
- The fisheries reform process (e.g. Qld and NSW) will limit access to commercial seafood by reducing the number of commercial fishers.
- By allowing recreational fishing groups to ‘scare’ politicians with threats of sending votes to the other side more and more fishing ground is lost. This leads to more, exclusive access for recreational fishing groups and less fish harvested for the community.
Commercial Fishing Media’s approach to fishing industry issues provides an example of what can be done outside the mainstream media. Commercial Fishing Media seem to have side stepped traditional media as well as using social media as a way to deliver messages to the seafood consumer.
On Wednesday 21 February, the Western Australian Fishing Industry Council (WAFIC) published ‘Overcoming Mistruths through Commercial Fishing Media’ – a look behind the work undertaken by the founder of Commercial Fishing Media, Dane van der Nuet.
I believe that a mix of consumer engagement methods will need to be developed by industry with the consumer as the main focus of our efforts. This doesn’t mean industry isn’t already trying but if government policies like the Queensland ‘net free zones’ and Victoria’s ‘Target One Million’ exist then we still have work to do to harness the support of seafood consumers.
There are many ways to engage the seafood consumer and industry needs to continue to find innovative ways to have a conversation with not only consumers but government. There are many resources available to help create a platform from which you can start engaging with consumers and/or government.
Dr Emily Ogier and Kate Brooks’ work on social license provides a wealth of information that industry can use to plan an engagement approach with our communities.
I was fortunate to attend the 2015 Seafood Directions conference in Perth. Damien Bell provided a commercial fisher’s view of engagement and the methods he used to change the conversation with his community.
A Fishery in Transition – Engage. Promote. Survive
A stand out Queensland example of engaging with the community is the Hervey Bay Seafood Festival. A fantastic regional event that over 2 decades has showcasesd the importance of local caught seafood.
Engaging with our consumers is an ongoing process and no one approach will be suitable for our diverse industry.
Author: Eric Perez, CEO – Queensland Seafood Industry Association
Image Credit: Commercial Fishing Media
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