The GSFF, which is a non-profit organisation, is in charge of allocating any financial surplus generated from the annual meeting of the Global Shrimp Forum, to projects aligned with the GSFF’s mission.
This year, the GSFF board has decided to use the financial surplus, to support a mangrove conservation project in Indonesia and has also issued a call for a study to define how global shrimp consumption can be promoted effectively. The results of this study will be presented during the second annual Global Shrimp Forum in Utrecht, the Netherlands, from 5-7 September 2023.
Global shrimp consumption
As GSFF notes: “Farmed shrimp production in Asia, Latin America, and other parts of the world is rising, creating many jobs and generating a supply of healthy proteins. However, to prevent shrimp prices from spiralling downwards, the industry must ensure that demand increases in line with production at the very least. To achieve this, the industry must collectively start to market the benefits of eating shrimp.
“This poses the question as to which marketing mechanisms work best for the promotion of eating shrimp. Is this through voluntary or compulsory schemes? Or through globally, regionally or locally organised initiatives? We must consider how is best to define a collective narrative, which every shrimp industry player could use globally when marketing. But what channels work best to amplify the message? How is best to develop regionally relevant marketing tools? Or, more likely, what combination of these tools are needed? Without such an approach, the industry will lack a unified voice – a voice which can be so easily multiplied through an aligned marketing effort.”
The board of the GSFF believes that it’s time to start defining that collective approach and narrative. By hiring a marketing or strategy consulting agency to take an outsider's perspective on the farmed shrimp industry, the GSFF aims to contribute by making a small but important step in this endeavour. The outputs from this study will outline the best approaches, the steps to get there, and the associated costs to deliver the strategy and make it a reality. Strategic marketing consultants interested to receive the Terms of Reference can contact secretariat@shrimp-forum,com.
The results of the study will be published as a report, which will be freely available to the public. Global Shrimp Forum participants will receive a hard copy of the report and the author will present a summary of findings and recommendations during this year’s plenary opening session. There will be ample opportunity to speak with the report’s author, and during the conference, the board of the GSFF aims to talk with the audience about how we can contribute and facilitate discussion about the next steps.
Mangrove conservation in Indonesia
The board of the GSFF has also decided to use part of last year’s financial surplus to fund the Dabung Mangrove project in West Kalimantan in Indonesia. This is one of thirteen projects that are currently implemented by the Forest Conservation Fund. In Dabung, more than 600 families will protect close to 3,000 hectares of mangroves and fishing grounds surrounding the mangrove forest, which will be better managed to benefit local communities and biodiversity.
The Feasibility of a Global Shrimp Council
During the Global Shrimp Forum’s second event, the GSFF will conduct a meeting where industry leaders from Latin America, Asia, and other parts of the world, will convene to discuss the status of the various ongoing marketing initiatives and look for synergy and best practice. One of the initiatives that will be discussed to support this, is the feasibility of establishing a “Global Shrimp Council”.
Mid-bird tickets are now on sale and will run until 1 July 2023. Register your place here.
