Dish up good news, Seafish urges industry

The UK industry authority Seafish has launched a campaign inviting seafood producers to tell positive and inspiring stories.

Companies are being encouraged to share uplifting narratives to support a new campaign aimed at improving the public’s perceptions of seafood and its production.

A recent Seafish survey found an alarming drop in seafood consumption throughout the UK with high prices shouldering much of the blame.

Seafish this week launched Seafood for Life, an initiative that aims to help businesses or individuals in the sector share good news stories the public may not otherwise hear about.

These might include technological and environmental advancements to help make the supply chain more efficient and resilient, stories around creating employment for communities, spreading the news of fish as a protein rich food source or industry case studies which help debunk myths.

Seafish said it will then work with contributors to develop inspiring stories into content including videos and photography, news, social media posts, fact sheets and more, to be shared with seafood businesses and help them communicate positively about the industry.

The content will also be showcased in a new online Seafood for Life hub on the Seafish website.

Seafish CEO Marcus Coleman said: “The UK seafood industry has told us it wants our support in helping them improve perceptions of seafood.

“While we know the industry faces challenges, it is also clear that it is full of passionate people with remarkable stories to tell and we have developed Seafood for Life as a means of shining a light on these positive examples.

“We’re asking people to get behind this new initiative and tell us their stories so we can create exciting content they can share to encourage the world to think better of seafood and the industry that gets it onto our plates.”

He added: “Examples might include how the industry is responding tovince climate change, to managing end of life fishing gear or attracting new entrants to the industry; whatever the positive story, we want to hear about it.”

Although led by Seafish, the organisation believes Seafood for Life should be owned by the industry and is encouraging businesses to help shape its future direction by contacting them with ideas via the dedicated email address SeafoodForLife@seafish.co.uk