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WWF Fish campaign

  • Published on June 29, 2016
WWF Finland started a campaign in 2012 to promote sustainable use of fish, especially domestic fish. The campaign included several activities, and targeted consumers and multiple stakeholders in the food value chain. The main objective of the campaign was to increase the consumption of sustainable fish by offering customers as many ethical fish options as possible. The goal was that no unsustainably caught or produced fish should be sold in Finland by the end of 2015. The campaign aimed to influence store procurement and marketing, and to increase customer awareness of sustainable choices, seeking to influence purchasing behavior. The campaign was highly successful in influencing consumer choices. The reason behind starting the campaign was that the situation for endangered fish in Finland had deteriorated for some time and no improvement was in sight. Additionally, legislative changes were under way both in Finland and in the EU, which made the timing of the campaign very good.
The campaign was initiated due to the deterioration of the situation with endangered fish in Finland over the last decades, with no improvement in sight. Additionally, legislative changes were under way both in Finland and in the EU, which made the timing of the campaign very good. The main objective of the campaign was to increase the consumption of sustainable fish through creating awareness and providing access to as many sustainable choices as possible. The ultimate goal was that no unsustainably caught or produced fish would be sold in Finland by the end of 2015. The means to reach these goals were to both to influence retailer procurement and marketing, and to increase customer awareness of sustainable choices and to impact purchasing behavior. In particular, the campaign aimed to: • increase the overall sustainability awareness of stores that sell fish and seafood • increase the sustainability of Finnish fishing practices • increase the sustainability of aqua culture in Finland and beyond • influence the legislation in both EU and Finland The campaign has targeted multiple stakeholders and included several activities, such as a campaign site on the WWF web pages, a Seafood (choosers) Guide for both consumers and retailers, accessible through multiple channels, including by mobile phone. Apart from consumer-targeted communication, the campaign has also engaged with stores, wholesalers and restaurants that sell fish. The goal has been to influence fish procurement choices and hence to influence the products available for sale to consumers. A specific focus has been on campaigning on behalf of the sustainability of domestic fish. Seafood Guide One essential part of the campaign is the Seafood guide, which guides consumers to responsible fish consumption through an easily understandable “traffic light” classification system. In the guide, fish species available for food in Finland are classified by green, yellow or red colors. The species with green rating should be favored, those with yellow rating should be bought with consideration, while those with red rating should be avoided. WWF's Seafood Guide was developed as a website, which can also be conveniently accessed by an application on a mobile phone. An icon can be added to the mobile phone startup screen, which enables browsing the guide quickly, also without a network connection. This way the consumer can easily make a sustainable choice at the fish counter or in the restaurant. The Seafood guide classifies the seafood into red, yellow and green categories. One fish can have several sustainability classifications depending on the geographic origin of the fish and how it has been fished. Active cooperation with stores and the Fish challenge Stores that sell fish have been actively included in the campaign. The stores and wholesale sellers have been invited to sign a commitment to promote the sale of sustainable fish and to take concrete steps to avoid the use of “red listed” fish. The challenge was sent to about 100 different stakeholders. As a part of the challenge, the businesses could set their own goals that were evaluated later by WWF and consumers. Key elements in the campaign were a web page with the published commitments by the stores and the use of social media with videos and other materials. Consumers were also asked to report fish encountered in stores that were on the WWF red list. WWF sustainable store competition In order to reach the targets of the campaign and to highlight a good example that could serve as a model for other stores, WWF decided to look for a store, which had paid special attention to the sustainability of canned tuna. The invitation to the challenge was sent to almost all stores in greater Helsinki. The K-market (food store) in Roihuvuori in Helsinki won the challenge by actively promoting the sales of sustainably caught tuna (MSC certified tuna) by reducing the prices of MSC certified tuna products generously and adding distinctive shelf labels to indicate certified products. The stores goal was to offer consumers as many ethical options as possible in addition to the normal selection in order to enable changes in customer purchasing behavior. Other activities WWF participated in different seminars and presentations and trained personnel in stores and restaurants on how to take into consideration the sustainability of seafood. Success Factors Working with the whole value chain has been a highly effective strategy. The combination of working with authorities on legislative issues and including multiple stakeholders such as stores and wholesalers in the campaign has worked well and resulted in good results. Novelty This was the first campaign that also addressed local overfishing in Finland, with one of its goals to reduce the overfishing of endangered local fish. The approach has been inclusive, involving many different stakeholders from the fishing value chain, wholesalers as well as restaurants and food stores that have direct customer contact. Activities were focused on multiple stakeholders in the whole value chain. All activities supported each other well and addressed the whole chain, which was effective. Sustainability Impacts An extensive survey of stores selling seafood indicated that 62% of fish are green listed and 35% are yellow listed. Only 2% of the fish that are sold are today red listed. Only 1% of the fish and seafood which was sold could not be rated according to the WWF Seafood Guide. Fishing legislation has been amended to protect several different local fish species. Specific management plans for other species at risk have been drafted. The management plans and cooperation with fishing management authorities in general have already resulted in one species being transferred to the green list and a positive development for several other species. The use of the species roach and bream for fish patties served in schools and personnel restaurants has increased, which is a by product of the campaign. Challenges and potential for further development Many stakeholders have helped the campaign along the way. There has been good cooperation with especially some fishing cooperatives and many other NGOs. The visibility gained through cooperating with well-known media personalities has also been very useful in highlighting the issue of endangered fish. Working with the whole value chain has been a highly effective strategy. The combination of working with authorities on legislative issues and including multiple stakeholders in the campaign has worked well and resulted in good results. Even the conflicts with the fishing sector have ultimately been a good thing, because they have forced the government to take some necessary steps in the right direction. The next steps will be to continue work on increasing the sustainability of especially tuna and farmed salmon and to take steps to increase the amount of local ASC certified rainbow trout. Promoting the use of roach and Baltic herring is also a goal. Contact person for more information: Matti Ovaska, matti.ovaska@wwf.com

External source(s)

Project start date
01/01/2012
Project end date
01/01/2012

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