Doing business the same old way wasn’t working for the fishermen who now make up Off the Hook Co-operative. As traditional bottom hook and line fishermen, they weren’t getting a fair price for their product. The question was how could they get a competitive edge in a marketplace that had been offering such a low price at the wharf?
As more and more Nova Scotians demand local, environmentally and socially sustainable seafood, it became clear to these small-scale bottom hook and line fishermen that highlighting their low impact fishing gear and the community scale of their fishery for the local market could be their marketing edge.
Sadie Beaton, coordinator for the Off the Hook CSF, says using a co-op model, based on local sustainability is an answer fishermen began to explore through the execution of Atlantic Canada’s first Community Supported Fishery (CSF).
Beaton will be one of four professionals speaking at the Power of Green Conference session entitled “The Latest on Sustainable Fisheries” on Monday November 8th in Halifax.
She says the CSF is similar to community-supported agriculture, a food model currently thriving in Nova Scotia’s agricultural sector. “Alternative food system models like the CSF are centred on the need to imagine new ways of doing business,” she says.
Geoff Irvine from the Atlantic Lobster Council, Nel Halse from Cooke Aquaculture and Catherine Boyd from Clearwater will join Beaton at the session, hosted by Assistant Provincial Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquaculture Deputy Minister Greg Roach, at this year’s conference
Clearwater has been a pioneer in the field of fisheries sustainability for many years. Boyd says that has bred a corporate culture based on sustainability and it has resulted in decision-making process that starts with the ecosystem.
She says that the culture of sustainablility that has been built at Clearwater allowed for the natural expansion of focus from fisheries issues to considering energy, water and packaging concerns. These efforts are meeting customer demands and resulting in cost savings.
“Everyone can see in current advertising, the issues of sustainability are gaining in the minds of consumers,” says Boyd. “Being sustainable is a competitive advantage in the marketplace.”
The Lobster Council of Canada’s Geoff Irvine agrees and adds that the most important topic right now is some type of third party eco-certification. It allows Nova Scotia lobsters to continue to be sold both domestically and exported to countries around the world.
Irvine says pressure from corporate boards and buyers, mostly in retail channels, has lead to his group’s promotion of eco-certification options.
“There is a lot of confusion with so much information out there,” says Irvine. “That is why I’m really interested in this conference to pass on the reality of our current marketplace.”
Even if your business isn’t fishing, the discussion at this session as well as other sessions throughout the day will help your business meet the challenges of a changing world.
To register, or for more information on the conference, visit www.thepowerofgreen.ca.
