Resource Media launches seafood campaign centered on independent fishers

Resource Media unveiled Better Values, Better Seafood during National Seafood Month to spotlight independent fishermen, aquaculture farmers and seafood advocates across the U.S. The campaign promotes community-based seafood production and directs consumers to producers and local sources through 2027.

Why it matters: - The campaign reframes seafood as a community and labor issue, not just a consumer product. - Resource Media wants shoppers and restaurants to support producers who protect local waterfront economies, worker well-being and natural resources. - The effort challenges how “sustainable” seafood is defined and marketed.

What happened: - Resource Media launched Better Values, Better Seafood this week for National Seafood Month. - The national creative and storytelling campaign highlights diverse, independent fishermen and aquaculture farmers across the U.S. - The first ad spots run on digital and streaming platforms. - The launch features Black and women fishing leaders from Rhode Island and South Carolina’s Gullah Geechee corridor.

The details: - The campaign will spotlight more values-based fishers, bivalve farmers, seaweed farmers and seafood advocates through 2027. - Resource Media said the campaign will continue through creative work, events, media and other partnerships. - Home cooks and restaurants can order directly from featured producers at Better Values Better Seafood. - Visitors can also find other local or shippable sources curated by the Local Catch Network. - The site includes ways to support fisherman-led efforts focused on hunger, youth engagement, climate change and other causes. - Better Values, Better Seafood grew out of Resource Media’s partnership with the North American Marine Alliance, or NAMA. - NAMA works to resist big-business control of ocean resources, empower community-based fishermen and seafood providers, transform supply chains and establish a fair seafood system.

Between the lines: - The campaign argues that industrial seafood has concentrated wealth and control away from fishing communities. - Resource Media points to consolidation through catch share programs as a barrier for independent and generational fishers. - The release cites a 2022 ProPublica investigation that found corporate consolidation pushed fishing rights costs in New England to $2.28 per pound of seafood, while fishermen received seven cents per pound on average. - Niaz Dorry, coordinating director of NAMA, said there is a difference between people who want to make a living on the ocean and those who make a killing. - Dorry said values-based harvesters can help feed communities, pay fair wages and care for oceans. - The campaign also positions some sustainability labels and certifications as too narrow, too expensive or too focused on a single outcome. - Resource Media said many of the producers it highlights operate independently or in cooperatives and carry forward local knowledge, ancestral foodways and culturally meaningful seafood traditions.

What's next: - The campaign plans to expand its spotlight on producers from Alaska to the Gulf Coast and other U.S. communities. - Resource Media expects continued outreach through 2027 as it builds awareness of values-based seafood. - A 2025 poll of 8,000 Americans found 71% of working-age adults said seafood-harvesting values matter in purchasing and restaurant choices. - Resource Media said people with real connections to values-aligned fishermen are more likely to eat, advocate for and pay more for values-based seafood. - Consumers can learn more at Better Values Better Seafood or contact info@bettervaluesbetterseafood.org.

The bottom line: - Resource Media is betting that seafood buyers want more than a sustainability label; they want a supply chain that keeps money, rights and stewardship closer to coastal communities.