The development of unsustainable aquaculture is something that has caused many problems for the health of the ocean, wild marine life, the farmed fish themselves, coastal environments and also humans. If not done sustainably, fish farms can leak contamination into wild environments including chemicals, food and fecal waste, parasites, diseases and escaped farm fish which compete with wild populations for resources. Building fish farms on coastal environments, like wetlands or mangrove forests, destroys crucial nursery environments for many species as well as depriving people who use those environments for resources. The rapid growth of the aquaculture industry is an environment capable of being dominated by large corporations who have a goal of quantity over quality, pushing out as much fish as they can to pull in as much profit as they can. These practices push out smaller fisheries who cannot compete with large, wealthy groups and they end up getting pushed out of the market, unable to make a profit as they once did.

This campaign for sustainable aquaculture aims to spread the word on the unsustainable aquaculture practices, sustainable solutions and educate people on how to get involved to make a difference by utilizing resources of education and making changes in their own habits to promote things like supporting small fisheries, protecting the coastal environments, ensuring sustainably grown fish. The focus of the campaign is to grab the attention of individuals and spread the word about unsustainable aquaculture, informing the public about what can be done as an individual as well as to insight change in unsustainable practices on a larger scale.

Resources are offered to inform the public about the problems and solutions to unsustainable aquaculture throughout this domain, sharing in depth analysis on information meant to open up many different directions of the problem and the ways an individual can make an impact as well as some larger solutions demonstrated globally. The Global Aquaculture Alliance offers many resources on sustainable aquaculture methods in their education program, sharing lots of categories of aquaculture. The academy has a wide range of themes available all providing more concentrated classes in those themes. The reach of this campaign may be a weakness with regard to its success, but with individual participation and the spread of information, this downside is something that can be overcome. Current partnerships can be increased as the information about unsustainable aquaculture continues to spread and inform the public.

Many aquaculture companies have put into practice sustainable methods and innovations. The growth and understanding of developments, like the offshore farming technology created in Norway which can be utilised in waters all over the world. Large corporate scale technologies to make sustainable changes are a great way for the industry to become more sustainable. Individual level changes can be made through habit changes and educating oneself. Taking individual action  and learning about what one can do to insight sustainable changes and habits is a positive opportunity that doesn’t rely on large groups and industry decisions. When educating oneself on the sustainable practices one can take to make positive change, it is important to keep an eye out for real feedback and alterations. Greenwashing is the promotion of sustainable practices to the public, when in reality, behind closed doors the company is not sustainable. When looking for sustainably grown fish and seafood, make sure one is informed about what to look for. Certified sustainable foods are labeled and can be traced.

A foundation called Changing Markets Foundation offers information on many topics, including the declining wild fish populations and the potential of sustainable aquaculture usage called Fishing The Feed. The campaign is full of articles covering aquaculture and fish news from locations all around the world. Aquaculture needs to be developed into a readily sustainable industry, as it is one of the fastest growing ones in the world. Uncovering the unsustainable, negative news that is going on in global aquaculture helps people to see where changes need to be made. Highlighting the good shows that in using sustainable practices it is still possible to run a successful business without sacrificing quality or quantity.

Positive, sustainable changes in the people who live near coastal environments, where it is easier to access local fisheries, would benefit from the information as they would be able to support and take advantage of some of the easiest ways to make an individual impact. The support of local fisheries would battle the impact small fisheries face as the aquaculture industry is overtaken by large, wealthy corporations. The spread of sustainable aquaculture information to people who value environmental conservation is also an audience that would benefit from the campaign. When there is a group of people passionate about a cause they are able to insight change and campaign for sustainable changes and protection to the environment, regarding the destruction of mangroves, wetlands and underwater environments due to building site demolition and water pollution.

An audience looking to become involved in promoting sustainable aquaculture should be educated on tools for individual action, some of which were discussed in the page on individual action, including eating sustainable species of fish, buying locally and seasonally, buying sustainably certified fish, implementing vegetarian or vegan eating habits and buying organic fish. These kinds of changes would greatly decrease personal impact in the support of unsustainable aquaculture production. Utilizing the previously mentioned methods are ways for people to lower their own impact, but spreading information and gaining awareness is also part of the plan. Implementing some of the previously mentioned tools for individual action will require some knowledge of fish species, for example what fish is sustainable and responsible. Using resources like the Good Fish Guide and Seafood Watch are tools to help educate seafood consumers about their choices. Sometimes it is difficult to see that a single person’s efforts can make a difference, but that doesn’t mean that it’s true. Action starts with small steps and making changes on the level of the individual is the place to start, because with the change in one person’s thinking and the spread of those sustainable ideas to family and friends, the action gets perpetuated and becomes something out of the control of an individual, but something in the control of a large community. Spreading these tools and information is a goal for this campaign. The use of individual action and the spreading of information and awareness to insight behavioral changes are goals toward making a more sustainable population of people supporting aquaculture. Using social media platforms, like Twitter, to spread information and awareness about aquaculture or one’s own habit changes is an easy and accessible way for people to participate in the conversation. The support of local and small fisheries is another goal that people are able to have a direct impact on. With the implementation of some of the mentioned ideas, a rise in small and local fishery sales would be a benefit toward the fishermen, but also the community.

Taking on all the new information connected with supporting sustainable aquaculture is a lot to handle. An overload of new information can come across as daunting and may oppose people from pushing forward in exploration of the topic. People may be apprehensive about not being aware of the many different species and which are sustainable, a mental block that one person cannot make a difference, the possible extra cost of supporting local and small fisheries instead of buying commercially and lack of tools to achieve sustainable practices. Although these barriers may turn some people away from furthering their knowledge and participation, there are benefits to overcoming them. People who are able to learn and spread information on unsustainable and sustainable aquaculture are sharing important information concerning the food that so many people eat, those that eat sustainably are eating food which is healthier and organic meaning that the individual is gaining more nutrients from sustainable and buying from small and local fisheries helps to support one’s own community and small businesses. Supporting commercial catching of wild populations is not a sustainable way to consume seafood. Overfishing in the oceans depletes wild populations and catches other marine life that is not intended to be caught. Wild populations are caught regardless of their size or gender, depriving the species of strong fish to repopulate. Individuals may think that the ocean is plentiful, but at the rate at which the world consumes seafood and the rate at which wild fish populations are able to reproduce and grow do not coincide. Commercial fishing causes environmental harm, but so does aquaculture when it is done unsustainably. Technologies and innovations need to be implemented, along with other more sustainable thinking, to further the industry to sustainable practices across the board. People may think that it takes more to produce at a fish farm and that the fish may cost more because of the additional steps it takes for the food to get to their table, but aquaculture is a way to get so much more seafood to the world and it is more efficient when it is done sustainably.

The campaign wants people concerned with environmental conservation and coastal communities to see individual action used toward supporting sustainable aquaculture and affected marine environments as something within the reach of the individual. 

Implementing change in personal habits and spreading information about sustainable aquaculture aims to raise awareness for the better options that sustainable seafood provides as well as supporting coastal communities and protecting ocean and coastal environments from the pollutants of unsustainable fish farming practices. The plan encourages people to adapt behaviors and raise awareness that spread information and tools for individual action toward more sustainable habits surrounding aquaculture. People interested in participating in the campaign are encouraged to take advantage of educational resources, as mentioned previously concerning the Global Aquaculture Awareness courses.

When considering the price of supporting local fisheries and buying organic seafood, the cost may be more than other differently sourced fish. The extra dollars behind the organic options are spent toward a better quality product for the consumer. Although some people may not be able to spend their money on the extra costs of sustainable, better quality seafood, the costs reflect the work going on behind the product to provide something better for the environment, the consumer and the seller.

Behavioral change is something that may come easier to some than to others, but it is something that allows for each individual to take it at their own pace. Integrating new habits into one’s life can take time and making changes in the way one shops and eats also takes time. The idea is to realize that a change can be made and keep it in mind when making decisions. Start by perusing a grocery store and gaining information about what kinds of seafood are offereced and how they are sourced. By making gradual changes to things like one’s own diet and shopping habits and becoming more informed about what is provided, options open up for one to look beyond a grocery store and perhaps find a local fishery, using tools like Local Catch to find establishments.

Spreading the word about change is something to be shared with one’s communities. Share findings with friends and family or use social media to share information and experiences. Contributing one’s own findings and information to social media puts it in a place where many others have access to it, forming a community online which connects people with a similar goal. Using hashtags like #sustainableaquaculture and other related tags, people can begin to build an online portfolio of their findings, sharing resources and information to help others better their own journey into sustainable aquaculture. All are encouraged to share and post what they’ve learned about. Using social media platforms in this way gives everyone the opportunity to have a voice in the community. Sharing pictures and videos of fisheries all over the world through social media is another way to connect people, showing that there are many people working toward the same goal, but also showing how people do things differently, allowing people to learn and grow from other’s experiences and information. Post on platforms like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to share one’s findings and resources.

The evaluation of the campaign will be done to ensure that the campaign is growing and the message is spreading the tools and resources available for people to utilize to make their own choices more sustainable and their knowledge more in depth. The statistics of the campaign evaluation should be shared with those involved in the sustainable aquaculture conversation. With the use of social media and tagging on posts, seeing the growth of people involved in the conversation will be a simple task. If participants take advantage of the resources offered by social media platforms, then sharing statistics about the campaign will be able to be done in a way that anyone can check to see how much involvement there is. When taking measurements on the activity of the community involved in the campaign, it would be beneficial to calculate correct numbers to exclude the contribution of the campaign itself, to see how many other people out there are joining the conversation. With the spreading of the campaign and the perception of the public, the success and growth of the plan will be measured after a year. Measurements will be taken by watching social media, checking the number of hashtags and postings related to the campaign. People who are involved will contribute to the spread of the message as they learn and share, the individual’s own postings will lead to the contribution of growth to the campaign.

Costs associated with running the campaign will be related to promotion primarily. As the foundation of the campaign is to insight people to make change using tools which are easily accessible and free, meaning people of all income brackets are able to participate, the real focus is the spread of information and tools.

Those who are interested have the opportunity to purchase a Support Sustainable Aquaculture t-shirt for $12 to support the campaign with funding and the spread of information. The simple design represents the important conversation, but is designed to be minimal. The t-shirt will provide the opportunity to wear a conversation starter and spread the word about sustainable aquaculture and its problems and solutions.

The implementation of the sustainable aquaculture campaign will rely on the voice of the public to spread the word and become informed. Using the tools mentioned throughout the plan, individuals will have the resources to learn more about the dangers unsustainable aquaculture poses to the environment, learn more about sustainable seafood, change their own personal behaviors and spread personal experiences and newfound information through social media platforms. The campaign aims to engage the public into the conversation of aquaculture and how the individual can make sustainable choices in their everyday life to become more informed and involved.