September 27, 2013 — An online video campaign designed to build consumer confidence in sustainable seafood has sparked outrage in the B.C. and Alaska fishing industry.
While a song titled Happy Go Lucky Me plays, the animated video features a tractor pulling an enormous net that captures farm animals, uproots trees and causes widespread destruction on the property. The marketing spot carries the tag line: “We don’t farm like this. Why do we fish like this?”
World Wildlife Fund Canada agreed to remove the 75-second video from its website and YouTube last week at the request of the Marine Stewardship Council, a London-based group that certifies wild-caught sustainable seafood.
The group’s blue MSC eco-labels are placed on retail products, after they pass scientific standards and meet guidelines for best practices for catching seafood.
Representatives of the B.C. and Alaska fishing sector are still seething, saying the video appeared for one week on WWF Canada’s website and YouTube, and also the Facebook page of the Loblaws grocery chain. The video had been intended to generate buzz on social media in a joint campaign by WWF Canada and Loblaws.
Read the full story from The Globe and Mail
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