SEAFOOD & MARINE
Strategic communications and marketing for New Zealand’s seafood and marine sector.
Image: Snapper caught via longline. Photo: Chris Sisarich.
Trusted by New Zealand's seafood and marine sector for over a decade.
Celebrating the story of the seafood and marine sector is crucial for its public license.
For more than a decade, Publik has provided the New Zealand seafood sector with strategic communications and marketing expertise grounded in a deep understanding of the sector's people, pressures, practices and products.
If you work in New Zealand's extraordinary seafood industry or associated marine sectors, scroll down to learn more about the work we do.
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Image: Behind the scenes at Seafood Saturday in 2023.
It is a privilege to work for our seafood sector.
Aotearoa New Zealand’s wild catch and farmed fishing industry – supported by marine infrastructure companies and science organisations – makes us proud. Seafood generates $6.4 billion annually and employs approximately 14,500 people. The Nelson Marlborough region is at the heart of this, being the home to Australasia’s largest seafood processing port and major fishing and aquaculture companies, serviced by a nationally significant marine service sector.
Publik has an in-depth understanding of the industry's people and its ever-changing complexities. We work with leaders from deepwater and inshore fisheries, seafood processing, aquaculture and industry associations. We also work for the science and research organisations that provide solutions for sustainable practice, and the engineering companies that keep the sector running.
Our media relations and media training programmes generate positive and balanced media stories and opinion pieces nationwide. We support organisations with rapid-response media work when opportunities arise.
On top of the ‘business-as-usual’, we provide strategic communications, government relations, media relations, conference and event support. We also build new websites and produce eye-catching and informative content that helps educate, inform and support this sector. Of note, in 2024, Publik Managing Director Emma Thompson accepted the WISA (Women in Seafood Australasia) – Champions of Women in Seafood Award, recognising our agency’s work establishing the Seafood Saturday event in Nelson and our ongoing work celebrating the stories of the New Zealand's seafood industry.
With more than a decade of experience in the seafood sector and a full-service team across public relations, communications, marketing, digital and design, we are ready to dive into your project.
See below for examples of how we can help, or jump straight to (just some of) our client work.
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STRATEGIC PLANNING
Communications and marketing strategies to achieve your goals:
Developing annual and project-based communications and marketing strategies.
Writing specific PR plans for new legislation, government workstreams, new technology, research outcomes, petitions and protests, fish stock assessments and bycatch reporting.
Creating corporate communications for major announcements and developments.
Planning and implementing crisis communications (as trusted advisors on your team).
Supporting stakeholder engagement such as Government relations, shareholder relations and more.
Pictured: A new careers brand and promotional plan for Sealord in action.
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MEDIA RELATIONS AND TRAINING
Media coverage that is positive or balanced and tells your story:
Building relationships with reporters, writers and commentators, to inform them and facilitate stories.
Supporting the sector’s business and association leaders and achieving hundreds of positive or balanced media stories and opinion pieces to date.
Providing reactive responses to media on issues as they arise, in a fast-turnaround media environment.
Providing one-off and regular media training for sector and company spokespeople, to ensure they are ready to answer both the obvious and the tricky questions.
Hosting media at sector conferences, ensuring they get what they need.
Pictured: Filming with Talley’s for a media story about its fishmeal plant.
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YOUR ONLINE FOOTPRINT
New website builds, refreshes and management:
Building new websites and refreshing existing sites for improved user experiences.
Ongoing site management and optimisation – content, technical maintenance and conversion improvements – to keep your site working hard for you.
Providing SEO and AEO strategies to ensure you're found by traditional search and AI-driven search alike.
Developing PPC, Google Ads, retargeting and display advertising to drive qualified traffic and support campaign performance.
Building your Google Business Profile, local listings and promoting online reviews to strengthen your presence.
Tracking analytics and conversions, so you always know what's actually working.
Pictured: NZ Fish Fed’s redeveloped website, launched May 2026.
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GETTING SOCIAL
Proactive and reactive social media strategy and implementation:
Developing social media plans and content, underpinned by strategic intent and an understanding of information needs.
Monitoring Meta (Facebook and Instagram), LinkedIn, YouTube and other social media accounts and assisting with timely responses to comments and community management.
Planning, designing and producing cost-effective and strategic social media campaigns.
Pictured: A social media marketing campaign for Sealord.
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GRAPHIC DESIGN
Seafood facts and information brought to life:
Creating attention-grabbing and strategic designs that compete in a busy online space.
Producing animated explainers for complex topics, such as inshore commercial fishing and bottom trawling, viewed by thousands of people.
Producing and updating infographics and fact sheets.
Creating vision and mission statement branding and collateral.
Designing websites and brands.
Pictured: Print collateral designed for Sealord.
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PUBLICATIONS AND PRODUCTION
Informative and beautiful print and digital products:
Drafting and editing the stories for seafood sector magazines and annual documents, illustrating sector achievements.
Designing and producing magazines and annual reports.
Applying corporate branding to communications documents.
Pictured: The Winter 2025 issue of Seafood Magazine, featuring Strait Speared co-founder Cole Robinson.
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EMAIL NEWSLETTERS
Newsletters that inform and entertain:
Planning a content calendar and structure for company or sector newsletters.
Writing, editing and proof-reading newsletters as part of coordinated content plans.
Designing graphics to complement wording.
Pictured: Seafood New Zealand’s fortnightly newsletter, The Catch(up).
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CONFERENCES
Seafood stakeholders come together for the important discussions:
Supporting the theme development, agenda setting and promotion of conferences.
Managing media relations and achieving well-informed, balanced media coverage.
Presenting to attendees about the latest developments in communications and media relations.
Drafting speech notes for presenters.
Managing conference photographers to capture the best moments.
Pictured: Lisa Futschek, Seafood New Zealand Chief Executive, at the 2025 Seafood New Zealand Conference.
EXAMPLES FROM OUR DECK
From media management to disruptive recruitment campaigns that deliver results, see below for some of the work we have provided the seafood and marine sector.
We made this video and science-backed 3D data visualisation for the NZ Federation of Commercial Fishermen, to educate and inform people about how minimal the inshore fishing trawling footprint is in reality.
A concept image for NZ King Salmon's open ocean aquaculture farm under construction, Blue Endeavour. We led the media and PR plan to announce hard-won government approval to proceed with the development.
Publik worked with the International Coalition of Fisheries Associations (ICFA) and Global Seafood Communicators to help communicate the conclusions of a new scientific literature review about the many health benefits of seafood. The resulting toolkit included animated videos, fact sheets, infographics and plain-language summaries of the research for international audiences.
Introducing Blue Endeavour. Widespread, positive and balanced media coverage was achieved for NZ King Salmon.
Bringing Sealord's people to the front through digital campaigns.
Front page news about Talley's upgraded fish rendering plant.
NZ King Salmon CEO Carl Carrington being interviewed by TVNZ for the announcement of Blue Endeavour.
We can make just about anything, from corporate and investor comms products to animated infographics.
Putting the frontline forward. A Sealord photoshoot as part of an attention-grabbing recruitment marketing campaign.
Publik loves seafood so much we ran our own event in Nelson for two years running, to celebrate all the people – from fishers to chefs – who bring kaimoana from the sea to our tables.
Branding and marketing for the Seafood Saturday event in Nelson.
Table talkers for the Seafood Saturday event in Nelson.
We worked with an app developer to update the graphics and gameplay for the Sealord fishing game app.
Publik consultant Claire facilitates the 'Sunderland Marine Young Fisher of the Year Award' for the NZ Fish Fed conference each year, from trophy design to front page news.
We support clients like Seafood New Zealand to tell their story to members and stakeholders, including their annual Year in Review document.
Sharing seafood messaging pillars one post at a time.
'A Celebration of hoki season' cover feature from Seafood Magazine designed by Publik. Photographer: Steve Hussey.
Zak and Tamar's Sprat Summer recipe cover feature from Seafood Magazine designed by Publik.
Infographic explaining how ring net fishing is done in New Zealand waters.
Graphic design by Publik showing the major commercial fishing ports across New Zealand.
What else is on the menu?
Or keep scrolling to view more of our seafood & marine work
Sealord came to us to help when the borders were shut and we needed to get the attention of a casual workforce to fill factory roles – fast!
An example of bespoke corporate communications. This is Seafood NZ's Year in Review document.
Bringing corporate communications into the consumer spotlight.
Publik Agency MD Emma Thompson received a Seafood Stars Award in 2024, recognising her seafood story telling passion and for making the Seafood Saturday events happen.
Getting together the collateral for one of the many careers expos Sealord attend.
Information is education. For Sealord, we worked hard to share information about New Zealand fisheries.
Publik consultants Claire, Emma and Steph have had a hand in Seafood New Zealand's successful annual conferences since 2022.
Bringing corporate communications into the consumer spotlight. And what better way than with the people that bring you scrummy Sealord kaimoana.
A catalogue made for B2B engagement by Sealord with potential export customers.
Sealord Chief Executive Doug Paulin and Te Piki Oranga Tumu Whakarae Anne Hobby celebrating a new Sealord sponsorship at Te Piki Oranga's Whakatū hub.
Hosting Hon Judith Collins and media at Marine AI's autonomous vessel launch.
OUR EXTRAORDINARY SEAFOOD AND MARINE CLIENTS
Over the years we have had the privilege of working with some incredible businesses and people in the seafood and marine industries.
LET’S SET SAIL TOGETHER
