Sea Shepherd's Catch of the Day Highlights Issues on Overfishing

Photo: Handmade fish repurposed from fishing nets taken out of the North Sea depicting the ‘Catch Of The Day 2050’, created by Dutch design students (Credit: Ogilvy Social.Lab Amsterdam)

If we don’t stop overfishing, our oceans will soon carry more marine debris, such as fishing nets, than actual fish. To promote immediate action to save the ocean, Sea Shepherd and Ogilvy Social.Lab created the unique campaign ‘Catch Of The Day 2050’ - displaying seafood created by fishing nets found in the North Sea.

Catch Of The Day 2050

To kick off this campaign, a classic Dutch herring cart has been set up in the centre of Amsterdam at Spui. However, instead of fish, locals and tourists will find seafood – such as herrings, mackerels, and prawns – made entirely out of fishing nets. Created by artists from Dutch universities, the collectable artwork depicting sea life is a tangible and alarming visual metaphor for the future. Via the QR codes, passers by can get more information about the project and the threat that overfishing poses to our oceans.

“Global overfishing and plastic pollution form a serious threat to our ocean and thus to our planet. There is a lot of talking, organizing congress’ and writing reports dealing with environmental issues, but to what end? The facts and statistics are clear, but we keep on rationally ignoring them. That’s why we came up with a different approach, direct and in your face, a visual wake up call. Art and creativity serving our ocean!” - Drs. Geert Vons, artistic director Sea Shepherd Global

Creative approach: united for an important cause 

To bring the Catch Of The Day 2050 to life, the creative team at Ogilvy Social.Lab Amsterdam approached overfishing, and the tackling of derelict fishing gear, head-on. Artists from ArtEZ University of the Arts and the Dutch Design Academy Eindhoven were briefed to recreate sea life typically found in Dutch markets using marine debris. 

Ogilvy teamed up with food photography experts, Chuck studios, who photographed the fish in the same way they would real food. Production house Tebber Nekkel will produce a short film that follows the journey of a Catch Of The Day in the year 2050. This short film will be released after the live event in Amsterdam. 

Photo: Hand-made herring, shrimps and mackerel depicting the Catch Of The Day 2050, created by Dutch design students (credit: Ogilvy Social.Lab Amsterdam)

Executive creative director, Tolga Büyükdoganay says: “Most of us will experience the reality of marine debris impact on ocean life in 2050. So, it was important to us to make the data as visually appealing as possible, promoting immediate action to save our oceans.”