Sustainable Fishing is the Key to a Healthier Ocean

 - May 19, 2021

By: Nataliya Bernstein, Amelia Davis, and Jennifer Clifton

Sustainable Fishing is the Key to a Healthier Ocean

There are many environmental issues that affect the ocean, but one extremely significant threat is unsustainable fishing. The ocean’s ecosystems are being depleted by the fishing industry around the world. These industries have one goal: catch as many fish as possible to maximize income. Guidelines are put in place to make sure that boats do not take more fish than allowed, however it is difficult to regulate the amount of fish coming in when it comes to fishing out at sea. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has estimated that nearly 75 percent of fish populations have been depleted and are still decreasing (Roheim and Sutinen, 2006). The main goal of this project was to bring attention to the problem of destructive fishing practices and educate others on how sustainable fishing can ensure the well-being of marine life. Making fishing a sustainable practice will allow fish to be harvested at a sustainable rate allowing the fish populations to be able to bounce back and reproduce. By making more environmentally-concious consumer choices, one can contribute to the health and balance of the affected marine ecosystem. 

  In order to convey the issue of unsustainable fishing methods, we formed a project titled ‘The Ocean’s Voice’ with the purpose of promoting sustainable consumption of seafood as well as educating the public on malpractice in the fishing industry. The project included the creation of a website, a stopmotion animation and an Instagram page. 

    The animation was a stopmotion animation, which was made with the goal of visualizing the issue presented on the website and our social media page. The stopmotion outlined the main methods of unsustainable fishing that are damaging marine ecosystems. The animation included cartoon drawings that illustrate what is being explored in an entertaining manner that is easy for many audiences and ages to understand. The way that the animals are drawn is in a cute and lighthearted way with the purpose of encouraging an emotional response from the viewer, as generally people seem to be more invested in the issue if the affected party (the marine animals in this case) are cute. This stopmotion met the emotional impact criteria of newsworthiness, as it aims to provoke feelings of sympathy from the viewer. Furthermore, the animation utilized environmental melodrama, as the drawings illustrated the drastic situations of marine animals getting tangled in discarded fishing nets, and while this is definitely the reality, the animation presents the extreme cases of animals getting harmed. Lastly, the animation was created as a synechdote, as because it included such generalized situations, it can be applied to many locations around the world that participate in these unsustainable fishing methods. From this, we believe that our goal for the animation was met, as it effectively communicated and introduced the ideas presented in our other two media resources. 

The website we created (www.nat24.net), was to give information talking about sustainable fishing and how it can be implemented in one's daily life. This site allowed us to reach out to a broader audience that is not specific at all, which would allow others to learn about sustainable fishing. Another key aspect of the site is what our audience can do to make sure that they are eating sustainable fish, suggesting easy ways to get involved  and be more environmentally-concious. Our website currenty has around 18 page views, which we are content with because we noticed that it had made a difference in how many followers our social media page had once we published it, meaning that people were utilizing every aspect of our multimedia campaign which is what we wanted.

The instagram page was an accumulation of pictures and infographics that emphasize what is going on in the fishing industry and how sustainable fishing would help restore fish populations. The posts convey what actually happens to many marine species when caught by fisherman while also giving alternative ways to sustainably continue to consume fish. Most of these posts were geared to create an emotional impact on the viewer by showing how participation in an unsustainable seafood industry can impact targeted and unintentionally-affected marine species. Seeing the damage that is done due to unsustainable fishing is hard to see when looking at marine life being depleted in an unnatural way. Emphasizing the need to change to sustainably caught fish rather than commercially caught fish. The instagram page currently has twenty three followers that have been to our page and has viewed the content on the page. In the beginning, likes were averaging at three to four and now have gotten as many as ten likes when initially posted, showing that there was gradual growth overtime which we wanted. 

These methods of media allowed us to reach out to a wider audience making it easier to broadcast our message and to educate others. In the end, this project helped bring to light the alternative way to sustainably eat fish that many people may not know about. While also showing decreasing one's environmental footprint would allow for a healthier and safer environment for people and for marine life.  

Project Sources

• WEBSITE: www.nat24.net 

• ANIMATION:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T0gqx8Zkyc1JRNbjxLlp_T6PG3dmOb_4/view?usp=sharing

• INSTAGRAM PAGE: @the_oceans_voice

Works Cited

- Roheim, C. A., & Sutinen, J. G. (2006). Trade and marketplace measures to promote sustainable fishing practices. Geneva: International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD).