Global Seafood Sustainability Conference Kicks off in Seattle
Seattle, WA (PRWEB) June 05, 2017 -- An impressive and growing list of more than 580 global representatives from the seafood industry, the conservation community, academia, government and the media will gather today at the Westin Seattle for the first day of the SeaWeb Seafood Summit 2017, the world’s premier seafood sustainability conference.
The three-day Summit (June 5-7) opens with a keynote address, Sustainable Seafood at 20: Looking Back at the Road Ahead, followed by an expert plenary panel that will reflect on the sustainable seafood movement, which began in 1997, spotlighting two decades of high points, challenges, and teachable moments.
The second plenary panel of the day will shift the topic of conversation from the seafood industry’s behavior to that of seafood consumers. The aptly-titled Fish Talk: How do we have useful conversations about seafood? will bring together five communication and branding experts to hash out why Americans’ French fry consumption is twice that of seafood, and what seafood marketers can do to reverse that trend. The panelists include Susan Marks, Sustainability Director for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI); Elizabeth Powell, EVP at global marketing and PR firm Edelman; Scott Nichols, founder of the sustainable aquaculture consultancy Food’s Future; award-winning television producer and “one of the most influential figures in food today” Heidi Hanson; and National Aquarium Director of Seafood TJ Tate, who is currently developing a nationwide consumer awareness campaign on sustainable aquaculture.
In the afternoon, attendees will chose between one of four concurrent sessions: one on the effect of aquaculture on world fish supplies; a second on consumer engagement with seafood brands; a third on climate-driven changes felt by fisheries and aquaculture; and another on fishing vessels audits for better transparency.
Today’s last educational plenary panel will be on pre-competitive competition and how it can drive change at scale. The panelists are Avrim Lazar, a globally-recognized policy and communications consultant; José Antonio Campasano, Executive President of the National Chamber of Aquaculture of Ecuador; and Jason Clay, Senior Vice President for food and markets at World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
The program will adjourn on a high note with a presentation of the finalists for the Seafood Champion Awards, a program that recognizes individuals and companies on the front lines of a more sustainable seafood industry. Each year, an honoree is chosen in each of four categories: Leadership, Innovation, Vision, and Advocacy. Shortly after the finalists' presentation, guests will attend a reception where the Seafood Champion Awards winners will be honored for their respective contributions to the sustainable seafood movement.
SeaWeb Seafood Summit continues through Wednesday, with two optional post-conference field trips around Seattle planned for Thursday. Photos and live updates can be found under the event hashtag #SWSS17, or by following SeaWeb Seafood Summit on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube or Google+, and full event details can be found at http://www.seafoodsummit.org.
About SeaWeb: SeaWeb accelerates the uptake of sustainable practices and products in the global seafood industry through communications, convening, and facilitation. SeaWeb is a project of The Ocean Foundation. SeaWeb produces the Seafood Summit in partnership with Diversified Communications.
About Diversified Communications: Diversified Communications is a leading international media company providing market access, education and information through global, national and regional face-to-face events, digital products, and publications. Diversified serves a number of industries including: seafood, food service, natural and organic, healthcare, commercial marine, technology and business management. The company's global seafood portfolio of expositions and media includes Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America, Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global, Seafood Expo Asia and SeafoodSource.com. Diversified Communications, in partnership with SeaWeb, also produces SeaWeb Seafood Summit, the world’s premier seafood conference on sustainability. Based in Portland, Maine, USA, Diversified has divisions in the Eastern United States, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit: http://www.divcom.com.
Media Contacts:
Diversified Communications
Jonathan Bass, Senior Marketing Coordinator
jbass(at)divcom(dot)com
SeaWeb
Marida Hines, Senior Manager
mhines(at)seaweb(dot)org
Jonathan Bass, Diversified Communications, +1 (207) 842-5563, [email protected]
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