Friday, 8 Jun 2001

ISLIP, N.Y.

Today is Oceans Day! It may seem odd that we’re not doing anything special for it at Audubon’s Living Oceans Campaign. But every day is Oceans Day for us.

I find it ironic that I’m working in the field of marine fish conservation. Until very recently, I never ate seafood. I always equated eating fish with death. My mother used to serve frozen fish sticks (which I now know are pollock) to my brother and me when we were young. Right as she would put the plates on the table, she’d say — and I mean every time — “Watch out for the bones! You could choke on them!” I’ve since learned that fish have more to fear from us than we of them.

Last night’s launch of the Seafood Choices Alliance was held at Fairway, an exquisite fresh food market in New York City. The Alliance is the brainchild of SeaWeb, an ocean conservation communications organization. The Alliance is a (free) online subscriber service for seafood professionals (chefs, fishmongers, distributors, etc.) and others who want to know more about environmental issues impacting the seafood industry. Audubon’s Living Oceans is a “founding voice” of Seafood Choices Alliance. The event last night was very encouraging; there were several people from the food and fishing worlds who provided testimonials about the importance of choosing our seafood wisely to help bring our oceans out of trouble. It’s good to know that these concerns are moving into the mainstream. That is exactly what we want to happen.

And speaking of mainstream, speaker Henry Lovejoy, founder of Ecofish, announced that this year his business will reach $2.5 million in sales, and they project achieving $10 million in five years. That’s astounding, especially to think that they just started their business two years ago. It goes to show that one can create a successful business with a conscience.

I think I mentioned earlier that I received from the printer a few samples of the Seafood Wallet cards that we did with the Shedd Aquarium and Aquarium of the Pacific. They are quite handsome. The Aquarium wanted their supply of cards in time for an event they’re holding today and tomorrow in honor of Oceans Day, but they apparently haven’t received them yet. I checked with the printer to see where the glitch might be. They’re apparently somewhere in the bowels of the Aquarium, waiting to be discovered.

I finished writing the brochure profiling our Seafood Lover’s Initiative, and I’m working with our graphic designer to produce that, as well as our new program brochure. Next on the short horizon is to work on redesigning our website.

Later today, I’m meeting with Peter Handel, an independent publicist that we contracted with earlier this spring to organize my book tour on the West Coast to get the word out about our Seafood Lover’s Almanac. I’ll pick him up at the airport in just a little while. We’re going to discuss other publicity and outreach work he might do for us, as we expand our Seafood Lover’s Initiative to the grassroots level, into the grocery world, and internationally.

The public’s enthusiasm toward our seafood consumer information is unlike anything we’ve experienced in our marine conservation work. The movement toward more sustainable seafood consumption is evolving, and the public is unequivocally hungry for information and guidance. In truth, seafood consumption is humanity’s strongest connection to the sea. And we’re working to make that a very conscious connection.

There are many things to accomplish in the next three weeks to enable the office and the seafood project to continue in my absence. In July, I will begin a three-month sabbatical to pursue an independent project. I’m working on producing an audio documentary series about the human impact of early-age stroke on victims and family members. It’s a very personal story, so I know it will be quite a journey.