Ad Campaign Asks Jewelers to Help Protect Alaskan Fisheries from Mining

A new ad campaign asks jewelry retailers to boycott a proposed open pit gold mine in Alaska, the Pebble Mine project in the Bristol Bay watershed. The campaign was launched this week in National Jeweler Magazine. Alaskan natives have said that the mine will destroy their way of life which is based on fishing. The watershed is home to the largest sockeye salmon fishery in the world.

“We are asking jewelers to join our efforts to protect this world class treasure," said Brian Kraft, a Bristol Bay fishing lodge owner and founder of the Bristol Bay Alliance, which endorsed the ads. “Their customers will want to know that the jewelry they purchase does not come at the expense of the world's greatest salmon fishery and the communities that depend on it."

Earthworks, an environmental group based in Washington D.C., is paying approximately $10,000 to $20,000 to place the ad in the trade magazine for the next three months.

The ad reads, “We need your help. Bristol Bay is the wrong place for a gold mine. No responsible jeweler would knowingly buy gold mined there. Your support will let customers know that you care about preserving your company’s glowing reputation.”

The ad also asks jewelers to take the Bristol Bay Pledge at this website: www.protectbristolbay.org.

The group paying for the ad said the message will reach jewelers who account for up to 85 percent of the world's annual gold consumption.

According to Earthworks, the Bristol Bay watershed is endangered due to a Canadian mining company that plans to develop an open and underground mine for copper and gold at the headwaters of the Koktuli River and streams that feed Lake Iliamna, the largest freshwater lake in Alaska.

Other such campaigns have been used to sway consumer opinion of gold and diamonds in the past. Earthworks said that 86 percent of consumers said they would switch brands to support the more socially responsible choice.