For Immediate Release 

March 20, 2017

 

 

 
CHEFS FOR OCEANS FOUNDER NED BELL NAMED SEAWEB SEAFOOD CHAMPION AWARD FINALIST
Bell in Good Company  Amongst Sustainability Advocates Driving Progress through 
Leadership, Innovation, Vision and Activism
 

Vancouver, B.C.Ned Bell, Ocean Wise executive chef at the Vancouver Aquarium and founder of Chefs for Oceans, is one of four finalists for the 2017 Seafood Champion Award for Advocacy, announced by SeaWeb. A panel of seafood sustainability experts from industry and nonprofit organizations based in Asia, Europe and North America recognized Bell for his ongoing efforts to raise awareness about sustainable seafood. In 2014, he rode his bike 8,700 km across Canada, hosting 20 events alongside some of the country's best chefs, and he continues to make sustainable seafood his mission. 
 
"Without healthy oceans, lakes and rivers, we don't have
healthy people," says  Bell. "The Chefs for Oceans foundation, along with my role as Ocean Wise Executive Chef at the Vancouver Aquarium and my soon-to-be released sustainable seafood cookbook, Lure have provided a platform to educate and inspire seafood lovers on the importance of making sustainable seafood choices.  My unique perspective as a chef provides a level of approachability within the common language of food to convey the importance of ensuring there is still something there for future generations to enjoy."   

The annual Seafood Champion Awards program, now in its 11th year, recognizes individuals and organizations for excellence in promoting environmentally responsible seafood. There are 16 finalists in four categories. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on June 5 at the SeaWeb Seafood Summit in Seattle.

"This year's finalists have a global perspective, whether they act locally or at a broader level," said Mark Spalding, president of SeaWeb and The Ocean Foundation. "Improving seafood's sustainability requires addressing difficult political, technical, social and economic questions. To create change, you have to forge alliances and bring people together around a common cause. These are not easy things to do, but the champions on this list have forged ahead and are making real progress."

" Chefs have a unique opportunity, quite honestly a responsibility, to raise awareness and educate the people that we feed around the importance of choosing responsible seafood that helps the species, oceans and our communities thrive. Being recognized for my efforts with this nomination means a lot," says Bell. 

The Seafood Champion Award for Advocacy recognizes the promotion of sustainability, use of the media to raise the profile of sustainable seafood, work to strengthen public policy and resource allocations, and championing of advances in sustainable seafood. For a full list of finalists, click here.  

For more information on the awards and finalists, go to  www.seafoodchampions.org. For more information on the awards ceremony and the Seafood Summit, go to www.seafoodsummit.org.

About SeaWeb
SeaWeb serves the sustainable seafood community by nourishing a coordinated infrastructure of people and knowledge to guide, inspire and reward the seafood industry's adoption of sustainable practices. SeaWeb is a project of The Ocean Foundation, a unique community foundation with a mission to support, strengthen and promote organizations dedicated to reversing the trend of destruction of ocean environments around the world. SeaWeb produces the Seafood Summit in partnership with Diversified Communications.

About Chefs for Oceans
Ned Bell founded Chefs for Oceans in 2014 to raise awareness about the importance of making responsible seafood decisions by riding his bike over 8,600 kilometres across Canada. Chefs from coast to coast to coast have joined the efforts to impact the way Canadians think about the seafood they eat, where it comes from, and how it arrives to their dinner plate. The Chefs for Oceans collaborative continues to bring chefs across North America together in support of healthier oceans. Ned's first solo cookbook, Lure - Sustainable Seafood Recipes from the West  Coast,  is coming out later this year. 

For more information on Ned Bell and Chefs for Oceans go to www.chefsforoceans.com or get social on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram
 
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Media Contact:                                                          

Ned Bell                                                      Kate Colley     

Chefs for Oceans                                       Colley Communications Inc.

P: 604.240.5840                                        604.644.7976

nedbell@shaw.ca                                      kate@colleycommunications.com

@nedbell                                                                         


 

SeaWeb:

Sandra Stewart                                              Sarah Grolnic-McClurg

Thinkshift Communications                        Thinkshift Communications

sandra@thinkshiftcom.com                         sarah@thinkshiftcom.com

415.391.4449                                                 510.898.1837

  

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