Our oceans are in bad shape and getting worse, due in large part to unsustainable consumption and irresponsible business practices. Many people are waking up to the problems, and some companies are trying to do the right things. The Sea Suite is the place to discuss and support ocean-friendly products and business practices.
Approximately 4,000 oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico are set to be decommissioned within the next century. Currently, these rigs would be blown up at a cost of millions of dollars and lots of sea life. With about 20,000 square feet on each deck, how about turning these rigs into exclusive, self-sufficient eco-friendly resorts? That's the proposal of Morris Architects' Hotelier At Sea project.
What do you think, ocean-friendly entrepreneurs? Would you vacation on a converted oil rig? Invest?
Community-supported fisheries - an emerging trend analagous to community-supported agriculture - offers a new and potentially profitable way of doing business for commercial fishermen.
And in Winsted, Conn., Litchfield Farms claims to be the first CSF to require that only sustainable harvesting techniques be used. (Read the brochure)
As in community-supported agriculture, where participants pay local farmers for a share of their harvest before the growing season begins, community-supported fisheries connect local fishermen with shareholders willing to pay them upfront for a weekly supply of fish delivered directly to their communities.
Local. Sustainable. Value providing. Now, THAT is what I'm talking about!
As the sampling of articles listed below indicates, CSF is a small but growing way for commercial fishermen to provide high-quality product to local customers at a reasonable price. Local also means a smaller carbon footprint because the fish are not being flown halfway around the planet from God knows what questionable fishery. I can't be sure, but I'm guessing that CSF fish are not shrink-wrapped in ocean-choking plastic, either.
A great deal for the health- and environment-conscious consumer who wants to know where his/her fish is coming from and an opportunity for the commercial fisherman who wants to preserve the source of his livelihood. The only caveat: Local does not necessarily equal sustainable. You'll want to know not only WHERE your fish are caught but HOW. Longlines and trawling are out because they contribute to bycatch and destruction of precious ocean-bottom habitat.
Anyone out there have any experience with CSF? C'mon...share!
I created The Sea Suite with one basic assumption: Business and healthy oceans are not necessarily at odds and, in fact, there are vast areas in which their interests intersect when viewed intelligently and creatively.
When you see an issue gaining traction on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets (as sustainability and ocean friendliness seem to me to be), it is time to start thinking: How do I make money from this? I know it sounds cold, but think analytically about this for a moment: People's purchasing practices, by definition, reflect their values. If people's values are beginning to shift toward ocean friendliness and if they are finding it difficult to live that value shift consistently (I know I am!), then, by definition, a business opportunity exists. It's easy to complain about the businesses that are not ocean friendly - it's a bit harder to recognize the challenge of being an ocean-friendly business and step up to it.
Too often, business is about creating desires for things that people don't need or didn't feel they needed until the things were marketed to them. Well, I want healthy, sustainably sourced seafood and don't feel confident about any of my local sources - BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY FOR SOMEONE! I want to reduce my consumption of plastics, which ultimately find their way to the ocean - BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY FOR SOMEONE!
I want my food to come from farms that don't pour tons of toxic pesticide, fertilizer, and animal waste into the groundwater, rivers, and oceans. This is a BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY FOR SOMEONE!
The big question is, are you going to be a business leader by promoting and profiting from this value shift? Or are you going to "see who goes first" and try to piggyback on the real innovators and leaders who are already trying to make a difference while making a buck?
Corporate communications professional, B2B writer/editor, and passionate advocate for healthy oceans. The profit motive got us into this mess and, with help from informed consumers and investors, will get us out of it. I hope the Sea Suite will become the conversation hub for ocean-friendly consumers, investors, and business leaders.
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