Six Things You May Not Know About The Global Aquaculture Advocate
As the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s magazine celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, we thought we’d take the opportunity to thank our loyal readers for years of support while familiarizing new readers with what the Global Aquaculture Advocate has to offer.
Mission Based
From its humble beginnings in George Chamberlain’s living room in St. Louis to GAA’s Portsmouth, N.H., headquarters, the Advocate has always supported GAA’s mission of promoting responsible aquaculture practices through advocacy, education and demonstration. The Advocate is GAA’s oldest offering, launched a year after the organization’s founding, at a time when misperceptions about shrimp farming and mangrove deforestation were abound. Twenty years later, the Advocate’s approach hasn’t changed. Contributions are based on science and research, and reporting is fair and objective.
Experience
Collectively, Editor James Wright and Editor Emeritus Dr. Darryl Jory have 50-plus years of experience reporting and writing about seafood. All contributions from scientists and researchers are personally vetted by Jory. And all reporting and writing is personally managed by Wright. Since the publication’s transition from print to digital he has built up an arsenal of independent professional journalists with years of experience reporting and writing on issues related to food, business and sustainability. They include Lisa Duchene, Twilight Greenaway, Nicki Holmyard, Lauren Kramer, Ilima Loomis and Tim Sprinkle, among others. And, just this week, Jason Holland, who has covered the industry for years, joined the team. Welcome aboard, Jason!
Pre-Competitive
Like all of GAA’s offerings, the Advocate is a pre-competitive activity. What does pre-competitive mean? The Advocate is treated like any traditional media outlet. The editorial direction is set independently by Wright and Jory, and all technical articles and news features are intended to promote responsible aquaculture practices. Nothing more. There’s no bias. There’s no ulterior motive. Just fairness and integrity.
Growing Audience
Since its transition from print to digital in late 2015, the Advocate’s audience has grown significantly. In the days of print, circulation ranged from 3,000 to 5,000 per edition. When the website debuted, monthly pageviews hovered around 5,000. In early 2018, pageviews are nearing 25,000 a month. The audience is global, with readers in all 196 countries, and select articles are translated into Spanish weekly. Currently, there are more than 800 technical articles and news features on the website, and content from print editions is gradually being digitized.
Free, Free, Free
The Advocate is free to read. First name, last name, email address and password are all that’s required to create a free GAA user account.
Advertising
Looking to reach a specific audience? Advocate content is organized into seven categories – animal health and welfare, consumer education, environment and social responsibility, feed sustainability, investment, leadership and innovation, and marketplace – which allows for targeted advertising. For example, a feed ingredients company can advertise on the feed sustainability landing page and article pages, with its ad appearing amongst headlines like “It takes guts to advance sustainability in aquaculture,” “Inside the Cargill Aqua Nutrition aquafeed plant in Scotland” and “A new nutrient for aquaculture, from microbes that consume carbon waste.” And advertising is affordable, costing only $500 for 10,000 impressions, which usually runs three months. For more information, check out page 9 of GAA’s 2018 Product & Media Guide.
