Save the Fish for Dinner: Select Seafood Markets Are Helping to Protect the Atlantic Ocean’s Underwater Hudson Canyon

WCS Launches the Petition Paper Campaign in Partnership with Fish Markets in NY and NJ

Fish Markets Will Wrap their Seafood with Butcher Paper in Support of Campaign 

Link to Broll

Hi Res Photos HERE of Butcher Paper Used in Campaign

Newswise — New York, NY – June 10,  2025 — WCS is launching a new campaign—Petition Paper— to drive awareness and action around the protection of Hudson Canyon, a vital underwater ecosystem located just 100 miles off the coast of New York City in the Atlantic Ocean.

Save the fish for dinner.

The campaign seeks to drive thousands of signatures to petition NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) for a National Marine Sanctuary designation for Hudson Canyon. (Link to petition is HERE.) By mobilizing the public through local fish markets, WCS aims to demonstrate broad public support to protect wildlife, support local fisheries and fish markets that rely on the canyon’s ecosystem, and ensure an abundance of sustainable seafood for communities across New York and New Jersey for generations to come. The National Marine Sanctuary designation would secure the canyon’s future for wildlife and people alike.

Starting today, during World Oceans Month, select seafood markets in New York and New Jersey will wrap their seafood in butcher paper with language in support of protecting the Hudson Canyon with a QR code driving to the petition.

The WCS Petition Paper Campaign, created by award-winning agency McKinney, takes its cue from the longstanding tradition of wrapping seafood in butcher paper in fish markets and at fish counters. These limited-edition prints, designed in partnership with Cylndr Studios, merge the Japanese art of gyotaku with nostalgic graphics inspired by old-school fish markets. Each sheet contains a QR code linking directly to the official petition.

“We want to meet people where they are—and for seafood lovers, that’s often the local fish counter,” said John F. Calvelli, Executive Vice President of Public Affairs at WCS. “Hudson Canyon supports many of the fish we eat, and the jobs that rely on them. This campaign helps make the connection between our dinner plates and ocean protection clear—and urgent.”

WCS and its New York Aquarium have worked for decades to study and raise awareness about the NY Bight from Cape May, NJ, to Montauk, NY. The New York Aquarium’s Ocean Wonders: Sharks! educates visitors about the wildlife in local waters including the threats they face and how everyone can take action to protect the ocean.

Participating fish markets in the Petition Paper Campaign include Greenpoint Fish & Lobster Co. in Brooklyn, along with others in the region. A campaign video featuring Greenpoint Fish’s owner, Vinny Milburn, provides an intimate, behind-the-counter look at how fishmongers and consumers alike can play a vital role in protecting the waters that sustain them.

“The future of seafood starts with protecting the ocean it comes from,” said Milburn. “This campaign is about recognizing that we’re all stakeholders in ocean health—whether we fish, sell, or simply enjoy a good meal.”

Fish Markets signed up at this point with more to come:
Mt Kisco Seafood Inc – Westchester.  477 Lexington Ave. Mt Kisco NY 
The Fish Store Montauk — 836 Montauk Hwy, Bayport, NY 
Greenpoint Fish & Lobster Brooklyn — 114 Nassau Avenue Brooklyn, NY 
Local 130 Seafood Asbury Park NJ — 1305 Memorial Dr, Asbury Park, NJ.  PLUS  2^nd location opening with much press on July 15 in Red Banks, NJ
Metro Seafood Lebanon NJ — 1320 US-22, Lebanon, NJ 
Mermaid’s Garden Sustainable Seafood — 644 Vanderbilt Ave, Brooklyn 
Marty’s Gourmet Seafood  — 266 New York Ave, Huntington, NY
Lobster Place at Chelsea Markets, 75 9^th Avenue, Manhattan, NY
Shore Fresh Seafood, 57 Channel Drive, Pt Pleasant Beach, NJ
Local 130 Anderson Market – 200 Monmouth Street Red Bank, NJ (opening late July)

Hudson Canyon is the largest submarine canyon along the Atlantic Coast, home to a remarkable array of wildlife including whales, sea turtles, sharks, and cold-water coral. The area is also a hub for recreational fishing, eco-tourism, and sustainable seafood, supplying countless markets and restaurants across the Tri-State area.

‘“To meet our target audience where they already are, we brought the petition to the fish markets,” said Omid Amidi, Co-Chief Creative Officer, McKinney. “By wrapping seafood in petition paper, we transformed ordinary everyday fish wrap into an out-of-home medium that chefs and home cooks alike cannot ignore.” 

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Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
WCS combines the power of its zoos and an aquarium in New York City and a Global Conservation Program in more than 50 countries to achieve its mission to save wildlife and wild places. WCS runs the world’s largest conservation field program, protecting more than 50 percent of Earth’s known biodiversity; in partnership with governments, Indigenous People, Local Communities, and the private sector. It’s four zoos and aquarium (the Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, and the New York Aquarium ) welcome more than 3.5 million visitors each year, inspiring generations to care for nature. Visit: newsroom.wcs.org. Follow: @WCSNewsroom. For more information: +1 (347) 840-1242. Listen to the WCS Wild Audio podcast HERE.