Friday, 3 October 2008

Orange Roughies

Not the TV show, the fish. They're endangered. I'm not a seafood fan so I'm not so bothered, but it is a pity if Orange Roughies are being fished to death.

And it's not just roughies, it's also tuna, sharks, and prawns. Gee! You can find out more about the fish you need to avoid at the supermarket here.

Why am I doing an ad for Greenpeace on my blog? I'm acting out one of the principles of influence - the law of reciprocity.

 

While walking along Auckland's Vulcan Lane, I noticed a big red fish with legs. I took a photo, and then almost bumped into a lady called Marie from Greenpeace.

She told me what the publicity stunt was about, and gave me the basic information I've detailed above.

She said the fisheries won't solve this problem themselves - they need people like us to remind them to be sustainable. How to do that? Become a financial supporter of Greenpeace, to show you're serious and it's more than just a petition.

I'm not one to sign up an AP or credit card form with a stranger on the street, no matter how worthy their cause, so I declined to become a member, but asked for more information so I could spread the word.

She gave me some brochures, saying "I normally don't give these to non-members, because they cost money to produce". She didn't say why she was giving it to me, but hey, I felt guilty enough to follow through what I said I'd do, and spread the word.

Interesting, huh! Actually there's two principles in play here:

1. Reciprocity - she gave me brochures, so I give a bit of publicity.
2. Consistency - I want to be consistent with what I said I'd do earlier. No-one wants to think of themselves as a liar, or someone who doesn't deliver.

So ... no seafood on the menu tonight.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Simon,
Good on you for posting on such a worthy topic.
As I grew up next to the sea and enjoyed it's many delicacies, seafood was/is the last bastion to me recently becoming an fully fledged vegetarian.
Recently I discovered the Forest and Bird version http://tr.im/715
I have since declined buying fish from retailers that don't know where there fish is sourced from, and been pleasantly surprised recently when buying salmon sushi discovering that the salmon was sourced from one of the better salmon farms in NZ (100% N.Z owned Akaroa Salmon - I won't go into the farmed debate).
After recently organizing a Beach Clean-Up in Wellington and being disappointed by people that said they would participate and did not bother. I'm impressed by you keeping your word, and supporting a worthy cause. High Five Simon!

Simon said...

Thanks Greer! :)

Good on you for going veggie - primarily to help the planet rather than just for your own reasons. That is extremely selfless.