On Educating and Doing What They Do

Since setting the vision and field of action, BLOOM has followed closely with what it has set out to achieve.

The picture below shows an overall classication of activities BLOOM has undertaken to achieve its vision. A short summary of each classification will follow.

General Activities by BLOOM
General Activities by BLOOM

 

Awareness and Education

BLOOM believes that children are our future – as they are the one who will grow to be consumers as well. Educating the children on the importance of ecosystems is essential. As such, Education is a critical long-term investment.
BLOOM recognises Education’s importance and organises events to enable children to learn about the sea and help them protect it. Such events include:

  • An educational show about the sea, called “The Shark Squad”
  • An Art and Science competition, called “2000 Meters Under The Sea”
  • Teacher trainings, with programs and teaching materials to educate biology teachers about the deep sea
    • Case study called “Générations Océans” is still running as a program in school

Consumer Protection

BLOOM recognises the relevance of informational asymmetry in consumerism – where consumers are often delivered partial and biased information from the producers. Hence, in order to protect the consumers, BLOOM denounces fraudulent practices and enable consumers to understand the destructive impact of certain fisheries on the marine environment. Such actions include:

  • Victory in battle suit against Intermarché, a French retail giant
    • Attempts to eco-launder with dishonest and misleading advertisements were banned
    • Label was also taken away
  • Relayed updated guides to sustainable fish consumption
  • Alternative guides of responsible consumption such as ranking of French food retailers were relayed as well
  • Certification procedures were examined as well

Legal Action

BLOOM does not hesitate to take up to legal action when compelled to do so.

  • As listed under Consumer Protection above, BLOOM filed a claim against Intermarché
    • For covering up its destructive fishing practices with a false layer of “sustainability”
  • Initiated in court for Intermarché’s fishing fleet, Scapêche, to submit its accounts (since they refused to do so since 2009)
    • Revealed budget deficits of over 19 million euros
    • Justified the argument of deep-sea bottom trawling being unsustainable and destructive

Independent Research

BLOOM conducts independent research to gain expertise and critical analysis. This helps to provide alternate and reliable perspectives to other existing and dominating beliefs about fishing as well as lack of transparency surrounding data on public funding. Various studies include:

  • 29 September 2012 – Publication scientifique : S. Villasante et al., Sustainability of deep-sea fish species under the European Union Common Fisheries Policy. Ocean & Coastal Management (2012).
  • November 2011 – An investigation into the market of deep-sea shark liver oil: The hideous price of beauty
  • September 2011 – Study on Deep-Sea Fisheries (English): Deep-Sea Fisheries in France: a Historical and Economic Perspective
  • May 2011 – Deep-Sea Fisheries Report (French): The Ecological and Socio-Economic Profile of Deep-Sea Fisheries
  • May 2011 – BLOOM’s Study on School Canteens (full manuscript – French): Do our children eat at-risk fish species?
  • May 2011 – BLOOM’s study on school canteens (summary – English): At-risk fish species served in school canteens

Events

Last but not least, BLOOM remains very active since its beginning in 2005 and organises various events to gather public participation and attention. The below list includes the recent events from 2014 to 2015. (There are still many more events before, and on-going as well.)

  • October 2015 – Exhibition on Cod Fishing at Marine Museum in Paris
  • June – October 2015 – Exhibtion “The Deep” arrives in Singapore
  • January 2015 – Issey Miyake Men Spring/Summer Collection 2015 – with designs inspired from the book “The Deep”
  • July 2014 – Standing up against UK Fisheries Minister, who supported the derail of ban on deep-sea trawling
    • Gathering media attention via Twitter, Press release
    • European street artists

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