ENP discusses sustainability with SlowFish

Rafaelle Vignola and Simon Bush visited the SlowFish Festival last week in Genua. Both participated in discussions over the future of the SlowFish, focusing on the position of the network in the wider sustainable seafood movement.

The meeting was around the role of ‘re-commoning’ marine resources for the benefit of fishing communities to combat the potential for ocean grabbing through the new drive for ‘blue growth’. The alternative narrative put forward by SlowFish is instead one of fostering and institutionalising the ‘blue commons’. 

Reflecting on the findings of his recent book with Peter Oosterveer, Bush outlined the opportunities for strengthening the position of the SlowFish movement by better engaging with other NGOs and initiatives that also aim for seafood sustainability. In doing so, SlowFish has an almost unique opportunity to highlight the important role that consumption practices can play in reinvigorating social values in the wider sustainable seafood debate.

The Environmental Policy Group and SlowFish also agreed to work together towards a new research line on sustainable fish consumption in the Latin America, starting with an exploratory workshop later in the year.