Working to put emerging issues on the EU and global policy agenda is a speciality of Conscience Consulting One year ago we were approached by the Rauch Foundation to help put industrial aquaculture on the map. Another food systems tragedy in the making, akin to underwater factory farms, with all the same problems, but worse. We chose Curious PR in London as media partner. #Collabs add new angles and drive more impact. The #SavePoros campaign was launched a month later, on World Oceans Day 2023, with the aim to stop a massive expansion of industrial fish farms around Greek islands, notably on the island of Poros by exposing the harm to marine systems and local communities. Research studies revealed lack of public awareness, catastrophic impact on jobs, and flawed environmental impact assessments. The Rauch Foundation is impressive for its attention to hard evidence A year later and the campaign has learned so much. Two documentaries were commissioned that have been screened worldwide. Italian Francesco De Augustinis https://lnkd.in/d4YgvE6z and Tasmanian Mike Sampey https://porosstands.film/ created masterpieces to expose death and destruction under the surface, poor industry practices and the deliterious impacts on the Global South. Feedback published a report https://lnkd.in/ez6RQMkW and the Financial Times reported its own six month investigation https://lnkd.in/dJUQr4GR. 80+ global groups and scientists gathered to share experiences from far flung corners of the world at the #SeasofChange Summit on Industrial fish farming, one week after the intergovernmental conference #OurOcean2024. Questions were put to the Greek Parliament and the European Parliament https://lnkd.in/e7_2DE2v So next week is World Ocean Day and the unity and solidarity among the global groups and scientists that gathered on Poros, with more joining forces every day, will be revealed. *Industrial fish farming is not sustainable aquaculture*. A powerful action is in preparation that will enable YOU to get involved Conscience is a change agency – In a world in transition, we believe in the positive impact of ethical advocacy and climate diplomacy. We build bridges for inclusive sustainable societies. We convene coalitions and design campaigns that drive positive change. We’re working every day to help shape a world that is environmentally sound and socially just. https://lnkd.in/eM-T6cga Join us on this action ✊🏼 Follow us: https://lnkd.in/eJfvywxy Eva Douzinas Katheti Patti Schaefer GRACE Communications Foundation Leslie Hatfield Andrianna Natsoulas Alex Cornelissen Vera Coelho Anais Berthier Quentin Marchais Tom Appleby Blue Marine Foundation ClientEarth Changing Markets Foundation Catalina Cendoya Natasha Hurley Nusa Urbancic Celine Charveriat Agustina Copello CFFA Coalition for Fair Fisheries Arrangements
Founder Conscience Consulting | Professor Strategic Coalitions, Climate Diplomacy and International Trade | Author 🌍
Just leaving the beautiful island of Poros where I spent the past days meeting awesome people from foundations, activist movements and academics from four continents gathered together at the first ever #SeasofChange Summit on industrial fish farming, hosted by Rauch Foundation, Global Salmon Farming Resistance and local NGO Katheti The facts are appalling ❌Fish farms are starving communities of locally caught fish, driving global food insecurity, triggering irreversible marine damage and harming human health, due to the toxicity of the farmed fish ❌EU funds have been given without any conditionality attached, so countries like Greece that don’t have the capacity to define fish farm policy, are rushing to spend the money, without understanding the ireversible consequences locally and globally ❌Wild fish caught off West Africa are shipped up to Europe and made into fish feed, depriving populations of their basic diet. Krill from Antarctica is also now made into fish feed. The booming industry of fish farms in Europe, subsidised by the EU, has a voracious appetite, contributing to overfishing, bottom trawler dead zones and diminishing of fish stocks around the world. #CrazyStat1 It takes up to 4 kilos of wild fish to fatten up 1 kg of farmed fish The rest of the diet is comprised of antibiotics and formaldehyde, plus the dead or diseased fish they eat. In Spain, Calpe fish farms in Spain used 342kilos of antibiotics to manage three outbreaks of Pasteurella, and the Basademar fish pens 20,000 used litres of formaldehyde( last year ) #CrazyStat2 up to 30% regularly die from disease and enormous cages of fish die from disease outbreaks when the oceans warm unexpectedly. Escapee fish eat local fish stocks, with irreversible consequences as whole local species ( eg of wild sea bream ) are becoming silently eradicated #CrazyStat3 Underneath each fish cage is 2metres of fish faeces, creating a dead zone on the sea bed. Waste floats onto nearby Posidonia sea meadows. Underwater forests like Posidonia have a 4x times higher capacity for carbon capture than land based forests so contribute massively to Greece’s net zero climate plan. Plus the plastic waste. Fish farms are already the highest contributor to plastic pollution in Greece’s seas, with styrofoam blocks on beaches and rocks surrounding existing fish farms. Learning so much about this crazy new element in the global food system is mind-boggling, and gathering with so many bright and motivated people from around the world is a really inspiring way to work to achieve change. Brilliant to discuss with organisations present inc. Greenpeace Greece , ClientEarth, Sea Shepherd Global , Don't Cage Our Oceans , Blue Marine Foundation , Grace Foundation , Feedback , DeSmog and hosts, the Rauch Foundation and Katheti Patti Eva Hannah Mike Francesco Nikos Fay #SavePoros #SeasofChange #aquaculture
