Now COD players can help save sea life — and real cod. Stakester, the online platform that allows gamers to play for prizes and monetary rewards, has selected Activision’s new Call of Duty: Vanguard game, which was released on Nov. 5, as their latest charitable choice for gamers.
Players are invited to play Call of Duty: Vanguard on the Stakester platform now through Jan. 1, 2022, to raise money for the marine conservation charity Sea-Changers. The environmentally friendly organization provides essential support to protect the oceans and seas from pollution, overfishing, and climate change issues. The U.K.-based company Stakester has set a lofty four-figure minimum donation in the hopes of raising as much funding as possible for the ocean conservation charity.
Stakester recognizes the worldwide power of Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty
This is a cause near and dear to Stakester because North Sea cod stocks in the U.K. have dropped 31% in the past six years, according to the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) recent report. And then a 2020 report showed that overfishing has put cod stocks in the U.K. seas “in a perilous state.”
“Call of Duty, or COD, is a global cultural phenomenon, and we wanted to use the release of the new game to do something positive,” says Thomas Fairey, the CEO of Stakester. “Our high seas and unsustainable cod fishing might feel a world away when you’re sitting in front of the computer screen, but we love the fact our gamers will have a direct impact on marine conservation when they play Activision’s Call of Duty games on Stakester.”
Sea-Changers is participating in more than 200 marine projects, and has partnered up with the Black Fish to target unsustainable cod fishing. It is helping to monitor the fishing practices happening in markets and ports to expose damaging, dangerous fishing practices.
How gamers are having a positive impact on the world
Choosing Activision’s Call of Duty: Vanguard is paying off for Stakester, which has connected over 70,000 gamers since it was founded in 2019. A spokesperson for the company confirms that it has seen “a solid spike in matches off the backs of the release of Call of Duty: Vanguard. We hope that this unique initiative and contribution to Sea-Changers, while the release of Call of Duty: Vanguard is still in the headlines, will forge the gaming world with the people behind protecting our world, raising awareness for the brilliant work that goes into marine conservation around the U.K.”
Stakester hopes to raise vital funds to tackle unsustainable cod fishing in the U.K. According to a company spokesperson, “Stakester is committed to raising awareness for marine conservation amongst a new audience of 18-35-year-olds, which is the core age demographic for gamers.”
The future of cod is in jeopardy due to overfishing practices while COD is still a top choice for gamers
Over-farming is a serious issue, confirms Marine Biologist Tom Pickerell. “Since 2017, North Sea stocks have declined year-on-year with set fishing quotas above the scientific advice,” says Pickerell, who is also the founder of Tomolamona Consulting. “Once again we find ourselves at a critical moment for cod as well as other seafood species. Beyond the North Sea, in 2020, the lowest adult population of cod in the west of Scotland was recorded, and scientific advice indicates there could be no cod to catch at all very soon.”
This has happened previously, notes Pickerell. “We have been here before,” he says. “The cod ‘Recovery Plan’ in the early 2000s helped to restore stocks to sustainable levels through limits on fishing days, the decommissioning of boats, and larger holes in nets. The result was a period of growth and sustainability for the cod population.”
Pickerell credits Stakester and Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty for creating a unique way to raise awareness of the environmental fishing crisis. “Unique campaigns and unlikely alliances, like Activision’s Call of Duty from Stakester can help shine a light on this major issue with new audiences while also supporting charities like Sea-Changers, who are on the front line fighting unsustainable fishing.”
Call of Duty: Vanguard is the 18th installment in the first-person shooter game franchise. “We have had Call of Duty games played on virtually every console for the past 14 years,” says Activision Blizzard’s CEO Bobby Kotick. “You never run out of ideas for Call of Duty games. There will always be Call of Duty games. And they’ll be played on a variety of devices.”
