At the 2018 meeting of the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission Spawning Aggregations Working Group (WECAFC/CFMC/OSPESCA/CRFM Spawning Aggregation Working Group), participants articulated the urgency to broadly elevate a call to action to protect Fish Spawning Aggregations (FSA) in the region. To that end, a strategic communication program was identified as a way to build awareness and support for FSA conservation and management.
Given the vast amount of dispersed communication that had been produced to that date, there was a need to develop a standardized, objective-driven, and unified impact campaign, as a first step of a long-term communication initiative that would facilitate the implementation of a regional management plan. So we created a Sub-Committee formed by fishers, managers, decision-makers, and scientists to support the communication strategist and filmmaker, Ana Salceda, to begin drafting a decade long plan.
In parallel, the FSA Working Group (SAWG) worked intensely to produce the Regional Fish Spawning Aggregations Management Plan (RFSAMP), which relies on its communication component to “significantly increase engagement and understanding of the high importance of protecting FSA among key stakeholders for maintaining food security, economic benefits, equitable resource use, and ocean and biodiversity conservation.
Developing an active, strategic communication plan for the region presented some unique challenges and opportunities. The WECAFC presides over a geographically dispersed and culturally diverse region, where three official languages are spoken and/or understood by a majority of the population: English, Spanish and French. Furthermore, to date FSA communication efforts have been largely localized, and there is little unity in messaging, calls to action and shared vision.
But SAWG’s collaborative work came to fruition in 2023 with the approval of the RFSAMP, followed by the premiere of our film “Treasure of the Caribbean” and the launch of The Big Fish social media and digital platforms. Since then, more than 50 organizations have joined the Big Fish Initiative, and together we are making a difference to #recoverbigfish in the wider Caribbean. Join Our Team!
