Rest assured, the above headline contains the only lyrics borrowed from the Rolling Stones’ classic ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ for this communication, but those are probably the six words that I’ve mulled most while contemplating my first direct exchange with you, the WF readers, as your new editor.
Now that I’ve got a few weeks in the role under my belt (having been brought up to speed by a very talented and incredibly supportive Mercator Media team), and the fish business is throwing itself into the prospects brought by the New Year, this seemed the ideal opportunity to show my face, tell you a little bit about myself and the direction that I’d like to take this hugely important international publication in.
Some of you will already be familiar with my by-line. Indeed, I’ve written articles for WF for a number of years, and several other titles besides. Essentially, I think of myself as a fisheries, aquaculture and seafood storyteller. I take great pride in keeping audiences all over the world in touch with all the happenings in these remarkable sectors through commentaries, features, news stories and industry reports. As such, I jumped at the chance to take up the editor’s role when the call came at the end of last year.
I’m sure you’ll agree that Quentin Bates, this chair’s last occupier, with his extensive industry knowledge, empathy and passion for all things fish, took this title on to new heights, both in print and digitally, during his five-year editorship. He’s certainly been an inspiration and a fantastic sounding board for me throughout all the years that I’ve known him, and I’m delighted to say that he’ll continue to share his insights with us as a regular contributor.
Moving forward, I’m determined to uphold the endeavours of Quentin and my other colleagues, and also to do my utmost to add further value to WF.
Few would argue that the seafood world is evolving at an unprecedented rate. The supply of high-quality, sustainable food – produced by the wild-catch, farming and processing sectors – has never been more important than it is today in feeding a fast-growing global population, while wave upon wave of new innovations and technologies are elevating these essential industries on to new levels of production and untapped market opportunities. More than ever, therefore, it’s critical that these stories are explored and shared, and that’s exactly what we intend to do.
With that in mind, I want to sign off by encouraging you to reach out and share any thoughts that you have with me about current or future WF content, or indeed anything else industry-related at jholland@worldfishing.net. Needless to say, we want your news, but we value your engagement just as highly.
