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We are proud to announce Affinity Trust Limited (Affinity) has partnered with Blue Marine Foundation, the internationally renowned charity dedicated to restoring the ocean to health by addressing overfishing - one of the biggest environmental problems we face.
At Affinity, we recognise world economic wellbeing is reliant on our oceans. According to the UN Development Programme, this contribution is worth circa US$3trn per annum. From fishing, to shipping, to tourism – the ocean’s vast ecosystem provides an income for every tenth person in the world. Blue Marine’s work combines a focus on top-down issues, to improve the governance of marine resources; alongside bottom-up project delivery, to assist local communities who are at the front line of ocean conservation. Developing models of sustainable fishing, restoring habitats and securing marine protected areas are core strategic goals for the team at Blue. At the same time, they purposely work on connecting people with the sea and enhancing ocean understanding across generations.
Aligning with these ambitions, in 2023, Affinity is helping to fund two Jersey-based initiatives:
Started by local photographer Matt Sharp, Jersea.je is a celebration of Jersey’s ocean life and culture. Blue Marine have worked with Matt to support Jersea through a fish of the month campaign. This seeks to promote locally sourced, in season and sustainably caught seafood through information sharing, fisher profiles and chef videos. With Blue Marine’s involvement in the island, this initiative aims to be further developed within a wider context to capture other aspects of their work locally, showcased through a dedicated website and other channels.
Blue Marine are supporting scallop divers to undertake a population survey of the marine mollusc. This involves training the divers to conduct assessments to assess how populations are changing within and externally to existing Marine Protected Areas.
In announcing this partnership, Elizabeth Shaw, Associate Director at Affinity commented ‘At Affinity we believe sustainability means making economic prosperity long lasting, more socially inclusive and less dependent on exploitation of finite resources and the natural environment. It is clear the Blue Marine Foundation is firmly seeking to address each of these and we look forward to supporting them in the valuable work they are doing.’
Freddie Watson, Blue Marine Foundations Jersey Project Manager said, “It’s brilliant to have this support from Affinity Trust Limited. It enables us to undertake important research with local fishermen, while also promoting local, sustainable seafood, in line with the wider context of marine protection.”
