Saving the Threatened North Atlantic Swordfish

The popularity of North Atlantic Swordfish as an entree was threatening the livelihood of the species. SeaWeb (a project of the Pew Charitable Trusts) and the Natural Resources Defense Council recruited Fenton to develop the concept for a campaign to protect the fish. We came up with "Give Swordfish a Break," a national organizing and publicity effort that got 750 prominent U.S. chefs to cut the North Atlantic swordfish from their menus, and involved supermarkets and consumers across the country.

The campaign yielded hundreds of print and broadcast stories, including all three major network news broadcasts, the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Associated Press and NPR, as well as extensive regional coverage. The campaign earned Time magazine's designation as one of the five best environmental stories of 1998.

In an early victory, the National Marine Fisheries Service submitted a draft swordfish protection plan that incorporated many of the campaign's policy suggestions. And in a speech, President Clinton himself called for a ban on the sale and import of swordfish weighing less than 33 lbs, another position advocated by the campaign. The campaign culminated in a major landmark decision by the federal government to place off-limits to fishing 132,670 square miles of prime Atlantic nursery grounds, enabling threatened north Atlantic swordfish to replenish their populations.

As icing on the cake, Fenton's work on issue was recognized by the Public Relations Society of America with its prestigious Silver Anvil award, considered the "Oscar" of the P.R. world.