WASHINGTON — April 27, 2015 (Saving Seafood) — This week, we are making some changes and announcements at Saving Seafood.
Five years ago, we created Saving Seafood with funding from a small group of New England industry members.
Since then, the site has become a crucial tool for education and time-sensitive communication with industry members, regulators, legislators, and scientists. Today, Saving Seafood is the 3rd most visited seafood news website, and the most visited site focused on domestic harvesting and processing.
From the start, however, Saving Seafood has been more than a website. In addition, to being an information source, Saving Seafood plays a significant role as a powerful advocacy tool for the commercial fishing industry. We regularly work with industry leaders and academics to produce informed analysis rebutting inaccuracies and omissions of fact in materials distributed by anti-fishing groups, and work with journalists to produce better media coverage of the industry.
Saving Seafood has evolved into one of the strongest voices for fishermen, the role they play in our economy, and the communities who rely on them.
We’re exceedingly proud of the work we’ve done, the growth we have experienced, and the new opportunities that growth presents. In the past year, we have seen our readership grow and transform from our New England origins to the national reach that we have today.
UPDATED TECHNOLOGY
You will soon see a new Saving Seafood website. In addition to the greater visual appeal of the redesign, we have updated the technology behind the site to add a number of improvements, including:
- A mobile friendly interface for a better experience on phones and tablets,
- Ability to embed video in stories,
- Ability to include photos in news alerts,
- Integration of our social media platforms, making it easier to share stories on Facebook and Twitter,
- Opportunity to place promotional banners on the site, recognizing the contributions of the industry members, organizations and friends, whose financial support makes the site and our work possible.
A NATIONAL COALITION OF FISHING COMMUNITIES
In addition to the communications work already being done through Saving Seafood, Mayor Jon Mitchell of New Bedford, Massachusetts and the New Bedford Harbor Development Commission have provided us with support as we take the successful model developed through Saving Seafood and apply it nationally.
The National Coalition of Fishing Communities will have members in three categories: municipalities, the fishing industry, and fishing organizations.
New Bedford’s position as the nation’s most economically valuable fishing port, lends itself perfectly to a leadership role in the coalition, and Mayor Mitchell has already reached out to partner with other local leaders in fishing communities around the nation. At the same time, Saving Seafood staff members have been reaching out to industry and organizations. A significant number of fishery groups, fishermen, processors, and support businesses have already agreed to join and support the effort.
The formal announcement and launch of the coalition is still to come, but if you have interest please contact Saving Seafood at info@savingseafood.org
Just like Saving Seafood, the Coalition will not compete with existing groups, but rather will serve to amplify the voice of legitimate fishing groups around the nation.
We’re hoping we can count on you for support. We also need you to help us bring together the organizations where you work and the groups in which you hold memberships to join us in this effort.
MORE TO COME:
As we roll out the new Saving Seafood, we’ll have more announcements and new efforts to announce in the coming week
Thank you to all of our funders, supporters, partners, and readers who have made the past five years possible and with whom we look forward to a stronger future.