Communities Reclaim the Meaning of ‘Sustainable’ in New 'Better Values, Better Seafood' Campaign

Tradition stays fresh in this new national creative campaign introducing eaters to generations of unsung fishermen.

PHILADELPHIA, PA, UNITED STATES, October 21, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In honor of National Seafood Month, Resource Media is launching a new creative and storytelling campaign to raise awareness of the diverse, independent fishermen and aquaculture farmers across the U.S. The Better Values, Better Seafood campaign highlights their commitment to harvesting seafood at a socially and ecologically responsible scale. It encourages consumers to support producers who are intentional about preserving the rights of generational fishing communities and strengthening local waterfront economies, all while stewarding natural resources and worker well-being. Values-based fishermen see the ocean not as an asset class, but as the cherished heirloom we all share.

Better Values, Better Seafood launches with ad spots across digital and streaming platforms this week that feature Black and women fishing leaders from Rhode Island and South Carolina’s Gullah Geechee corridor. The campaign aims to spotlight many more values-based fishers, bivalve and seaweed farmers and seafood advocates from across the U.S. through 2027 with continued creative, events, media and other partnerships.

“Seafood is more than a staple, it’s a symbol of the better world we want for ourselves and our loved ones,” said Adam Hymans, Managing Director at Resource Media, a national nonprofit communications and creative change agency. “By celebrating the people who harvest seafood with a respect for community, nature and tomorrow in mind, Better Values, Better Seafood gives us the recipe for a delicious future worth saving.”

Beyond raising awareness, the campaign also connects consumers directly with seafood producers. Home cooks and restaurants can order directly from featured producers at BetterValuesBetterSeafood.org and can also explore other local or shippable sources curated by the Local Catch Network. Visitors to the site will also find ways to support fisherman-led efforts that address hunger, youth engagement, climate change and other causes.

Better Values, Better Seafood arose from Resource Media’s longtime partnership with the North American Marine Alliance (NAMA), a nonprofit organization rallying a movement to resist big-business control of ocean resources, empower community-based fishermen and seafood providers, transform problematic supply chains and establish a fair seafood system for everyone.


WHY NOW? AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE INDUSTRIAL TAKEOVER OF SEAFOOD

Seafood is at a crossroads. By some estimates, the U.S. seafood industry is projected to grow in value to nearly $70 billion over the next five years. Yet, a large share of the wealth being generated is leaving fishing communities and flowing toward a handful of multinational corporations.

Large companies, private equity and governments of all scales have worked to consolidate control over once-shared water access and commercial fishing rights. In many coastal and waterfront communities, this has led to a neo-feudal system for fishermen. Similar to the land grabs taking place across the rural U.S., corporations have gained control of fishing rights through “catch share” programs, making fishing prohibitively expensive for independent and generational fishers. A 2022 ProPublica investigation into New England’s fishing industry, for example, exposed that corporate consolidation drove up the cost of fishing rights to $2.28 per pound of seafood, while the market only paid fishermen seven cents per pound on average.

“There is a big difference between people who want to make a living on the ocean and those who make a killing,” said Niaz Dorry, Coordinating Director of the North American Marine Alliance. “And those who make a living on the ocean harvest in ways that have ripple effects like the ability to feed their communities, pay fair wages and care for the oceans around them.

In many ways, the industrial seafood system mirrors industrial-scale, land-based agriculture in its harmful impacts on our health, ecosystems, climate, economy and politics. Around 85 percent of the seafood eaten in the U.S. today comes from large corporate ocean farms in places like China, Chile and India. These are part of a system repeatedly exposed for its abusive treatment of fish and shrimp, workers, and damage to marine ecosystems and coastal communities.


WHAT NOW? A SPOTLIGHT ON VALUES-BASED PRODUCERS

‘Sustainable’ is a broad term that many big industry players have co-opted to justify practices that harm ecosystems and privatize the very resources they claim to protect. In the case of sustainability labeling and certifications, some are cost-prohibitive to all but the wealthiest operations. Their definitions may also focus narrowly on a single environmental or species outcome while obscuring the other natural, social, and economic justice values that make for a truly resilient seafood system.

As an alternative to corporate-controlled seafood, Better Values, Better Seafood lifts up fisherpeople and aquagrowers who operate independently or in cooperative enterprises. Beyond making a living, many produce seafood with the goal to feed and nourish their communities with meaningful foods that preserve culture and restore the health of their environment. In cities, towns and villages from Alaska to the Gulf Coast, some producers have been fishing commercially for generations, while others are just breaking into the field and reactivating ancestral foodways. They hail from a wide spectrum of identities and walks of life. Irrespective of their backgrounds, the producers highlighted by the campaign face similar challenges and share similar values.

They believe in:
• securing a future with diverse, plentiful and culturally meaningful seafood;
• safeguarding ecosystems through harvesting, growing or processing methods that work with, not against the delicate balance of life on land, in sea and in local waterways;
• centering community by honoring and participating in the social, economic and cultural fabric that sustains strong fisheries;
• creating opportunity for new and diverse seafood producers and consumers of all ages, genders, races, cultures and incomes;
• protecting workers along every link in the seafood supply chain by providing living wages, safe working conditions and dignified work;
• honoring long-held local knowledge about how to catch and grow seafood in harmony with surrounding ecosystems and communities;
• respecting Tribal rights of Nations in their traditional homelands and affirming their legal and moral rights to protected resources under the Public Trust Doctrine; and
• upholding shared accountability through regulations that are fair, clear and transparent.


WHAT’S NEXT? A NEW GENERATION OF SEAFOOD CONNOISSEURS

Despite rising inflation in the U.S., conscious eating and connoisseurship are at an all-time high across income levels. In a 2025 poll conducted by Resource Media among 8,000 Americans, 71 percent of working-age adults said that the values behind seafood harvesting play an important role in their seafood purchasing and restaurant decisions. Further research revealed that eaters who have a connection with real and values-aligned fishermen are more likely to eat, advocate and even pay a premium for values-based seafood.

Values-based producers draw on time-tested knowledge of marine ecosystems and use harvesting techniques that allow fish species and habitats to replenish. They also prioritize processing methods that protect quality, flavor, food safety and workers’ dignity.

To learn more about values-based seafood and support fishermen who are carrying the mantle forward, visit BetterValuesBetterSeafood.org or contact info@bettervaluesbetterseafood.org

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ABOUT RESOURCE MEDIA
Resource Media is a national nonprofit creative change agency (501c3) that
delivers strategic communications, narrative capacity building, and culturally resonant creative campaigns. They partner with movements, grantmakers, local governments and communities to move the most urgent issues of our time. Learn more at resource-media.org

ABOUT THE NORTH AMERICAN MARINE ALLIANCE (NAMA)
NAMA is a nonprofit organization rallying a movement to resist big-business control of ocean resources, empower community-based fishermen and seafood providers, transform problematic supply chains, and establish a fair seafood system for everyone. Learn more at namanet.org

Adam Hymans
Resource Media
info@bettervaluesbetterseafood.org