Client: Department of Ecology
Case Study: Peak and Shew Design are developing a consistent social marketing messaging campaign to improve voluntary no anchor zone compliance by recreational boaters in the Northwest Straits region. No anchor zones aim to protect eelgrass beds from recreational boater anchors. The project goal is to build a consistent strategy across all partners to improve voluntary compliance by recreational boaters in the Northwest Straits region.
Peak will define target audiences and strategies and review existing programs locally and outside of the region to assess which strategies have worked elsewhere. Peak will conduct interviews and focus groups with stakeholders to identify what might help or hinder boaters from anchoring outside of No-Anchor Zones. Our team is working with Shew Design to develop key messages, recommended strategies to convey their key messages to the target audience, and a toolkit including a logo, printed materials, and digital communications.
Impact: A consistent strategy and targeted communication and messaging across all partners will improve recreational boater voluntary no anchor zone compliance in the Northwest Straits region. According to NOAA, eelgrass forms the base of a highly productive marine food web with key benefits such as foraging and sheltered areas for young fish and invertebrates, food for a variety of aquatic creatures and birds, and eelgrass surfaces as places to spawn. They also trap sediment, reduce coastal erosion and stabilize mudflats, as well as reduce the force of wave energy. In fact, eelgrass is critically important in ensuring an aquatic healthy ecosystem.