MRKT20052 Term 1 2020: Marketing Report on Fish Disaster and UNSDGs

This report analyzes the marketing implications of a fish disaster in the Murray Darling Basin, Australia, linking it to Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Life Below Water). It identifies key stakeholders such as the United Nations, Commonwealth organizations, and local fishing communities. The report explores potential marketing issues, including market losses for fishermen, supply and demand fluctuations, and storage costs. It emphasizes the need to respond to these issues to protect fish species, which are critical for marine biodiversity. The report suggests solutions like reducing bycatch, improving processing techniques, and managing water quality. The analysis is supported by references to academic research on fish disasters, water management, and marine ecology. The assignment fulfills the requirements of a marketing management course, focusing on the practical application of marketing principles to address environmental challenges and promote sustainable development.

Running Head: MARKETING MANAGEMNT AND DIGITAL COMMUNICATION
Marketing Management and Digital Communication
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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For the given assignment I have selected the article on ‘Wall of Mud and Ash
‘new fish disaster:
1. Which of the UNSDGs does the news article relate to?
Answer: The recent fish disaster in the Murray Darling Basin in Australia can be attributed to the
Sustainable Development Goal No.14 that is ‘Life below Water’. The main mission of this goal
is to “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable
development”. The recent fish disaster that has been reported from the Macquarie River near
Dubbo in the Murray Darling Basin mainly occurred due to the lack of water management
quality and the lack of the effective care of the health of the fish species. The recent disaster can
also be attributed to the lack of effective climate change management as there have been
incidences of rising algal blooms in the region that has contributed to the increasing death of the
fishes.
This situation can be averted by following the sustainable development goal no. 14 that will
formulate the effective strategies in order to mitigate the adverse effects on the increased levels
of the acidification of the oceans that will be required to preserve the sustainability of the oceans
and will eliminate the various anthropogenic occurrence and the unethical activities that takes
place in the ocean areas. The UNSDG no.14 has also targeted on the prevention and the
reduction of the marine level pollution and the reduction of eth oceanic acidification that will
result in the protection and regulation of the unscrupulous fishing practices in the ocean areas.
The individuals should take the voluntary responsibility to reduce the energy consumption
measures and should eliminate the use of plastics around the ocean bodies (Hallegraeff et.al
2016).
2. Who are the important stakeholders?
Answer: The most important stakeholders in the elimination of the global fish disaster and the
preservation of the water quality in the various oceans around the globe are the organizations like
the United Nations and its various committees like the Committee on the Ocean Action Plan
along with the webinars on how to avert the global fish disasters. The webinars address the
management of the mangrove and the coastal ecosystem, in order to enhance the research

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capacity in order to avert the risks of the marine pollution and the implementation of the
effective international law that was reflected in the Convention of the United Nations and by the
International Law of the Sea.
Specifically, the global fish disaster in the Murray Darling basin is averted by the various
attempts taken by the Commonwealth organization in eth New South Wales that will result in the
implementation of the cap on the water diversions and to recover the water entitlements
measures so that more water can stay in the river bodies. The Murray Darling Basin Authority
has also imposed various measures of the Water Act of 2007 to reduce the global fish disasters
like the long term average plan for the Sustainable form of the Diversion Limits for tapping the
amount of surface and the required volume of the groundwater along with an effective
environmental water management plan with the salinity management plan and making strict rules
on the trading of water. The Sustainable Rural Water Use and Infrastructure program will
modernize the present irrigation measures that will help in the saving of the water resources
(Ogston et.al 2016).
3. What are the potential marketing issues that is identifies from the above mentioned article?
Answer: The fish disaster in the Macquarie River in the Murray Darling Basin has an immediate
effect on the market of Australia and the other neighboring areas. The reports from the Cotton
Australia stated that the fish industry got widely affected due to the fish death. The fishermen
and the people associated with the fish markets are suffering with the immense loss in the market
due to the fish disaster in the Murray Darling Basin. The situation has resulted in the loss in the
market force with an unexpected demand in the market and the unexpected supply situations that
have caused the various operators to sell their product at a below market price level (Harris et.al
2017).
The fish disaster in the Murray Darling Basin has resulted with the increased supply
during the peak season that may flood the market with the increasing number of fish that will
give the individuals a direct access to the right kind of the market at and at the most appropriate
time. The storage of the fishes whether they are in the frozen or in the smoky condition will often
incur the various costs that will include the cost of the cost of the electricity and the other rents
that have been incurred for the storage. The Rural fish markets in the Murray Darling Basin
Region have operated in the established market areas only. In this situation more volumes of fish

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will be supplied in the market area and it will affect the price that will be affected by the market
forces of demand and supply.
4. Why do we need to respond to these issues and in what ways?
Answer: It is very crucial that such deaths of fishes on a mass scale should be eliminated in order
to preserve and protect the fish species that can eventually affect the marine or the coastal
ecology to a vast extent. It is very important to preserve the fish species from dying as fish is the
most important aspect of the marine biodiversity and the disruption of these species can disrupt
the entire marine biodiversity cycle (Breithaupt et.al 2017).
The issues of mass fish deaths that have recently occurred in the Murray Darling Basin region of
Australia can be eliminated by the following ways:
 The by catch at the water bodies should be discarded.
 The poor processing techniques that can damage the fish should be discarded.
 The water bodies should be kept free of the animal predation measures and the infestation
by the various insect species.
 Immediate removal of the dead or the dying fish from the water bodies.
 The immediate removal of the decomposing weeds and the other associated organics of
the water bodies.
 There should be a reduction in the overfeeding of the fishes and over fertilizing the river
bodies (Mumby et.al 2017).

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References
Breithaupt, J. L., Smoak, J. M., Byrne, R. H., Waters, M. N., Moyer, R. P., & Sanders, C. J.
(2018). Avoiding timescale bias in assessments of coastal wetland vertical change.
Limnology and oceanography, 63(S1), S477-S495.
Hallegraeff, G., Dorantes-Aranda, J. J., Mardones, J., & Seger, A. (2017). Review of progress in
our understanding of fish-killing microalgae: Implications for management and
mitigation. Marine and Fresh-Water Harmful Algae, 150.
Harris, J. H., Kingsford, R. T., Peirson, W., & Baumgartner, L. J. (2017). Mitigating the effects
of barriers to freshwater fish migrations: the Australian experience. Marine and
Freshwater Research, 68(4), 614-628.
Mumby, P. J., Sanchirico, J. N., Broad, K., Beck, M. W., Tyedmers, P., Morikawa, M., ... &
Kleypas, J. A. (2017). Avoiding a crisis of motivation for ocean management under
global environmental change. Global change biology, 23(11), 4483-4496.
Ogston, G., Beatty, S. J., Morgan, D. L., Pusey, B. J., & Lymbery, A. J. (2016). Living on
burrowed time: Aestivating fishes in south-western Australia face extinction due to
climate change. Biological Conservation, 195, 235-244.
Bibliography
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/wall-of-mud-and-ash-fish-disaster-moves-
across-murray-darling-basin-20200123-p53u6i.html