LUISA KOSTER
Big Title
A CONCEPT FOR CONNECTING PEOPLE TO SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD
MaréMar is a short-term service design project developed within Bauhaus of the Seas, exploring how the consumption of bycatch can support environmental sustainability and artisanal fishermen.
The project responds to low awareness of underutilized fish species and the disconnect between consumers and small-scale fisheries. Through a combination of a digital platform and shared harbor dinner experiences, MaréMar enables learning, dialogue, and direct exchange.
By making bycatch visible and socially experienced, the project encourages more conscious seafood choices and supports artisanal fishing practices.
ROLE
Service Designer
Service concept development
Experience framing
Stakeholder alignment
Desk Research
CONTEXT
Food Sea World Project
Faculdade de Belas-Artes & Bauhaus of the Seas
1 month Project
May 2023
METHODS
Research
Desk research
Insight synthesis
Bycatch research
Mapping
System mapping
Service journey mapping
Concept
Service concept development
Experience prototyping
TEAM
Claudia Lourenço Graphic Design
Gonçalo Borlinha
UI Design
Luisa Koster
Service Designer
Raphael Batista Communication Design
Mentor:
Frederico Duarte
OUTCOME
MaréMar:
A service concept combining a digital platform and physical harbor dinners to reconnect people with sustainable seafood and
bycatch awareness.
CONTEXT
Portugal has a strong cultural, economic, and emotional connection to the sea. Fishing plays an important role in coastal communities, while seafood consumption is deeply embedded in everyday life and national identity.
At the same time, overfishing, industrial practices, and food waste increasingly challenge the sustainability of marine ecosystems. Large amounts of edible fish are discarded as bycatch, while artisanal fishermen struggle to remain visible and economically viable within the current food system.
Developed within Bauhaus of the Seas, MaréMar explores how service design can investigate the relationship between people, the sea, and local businesses in Portugal, and how small, experience-based interventions could contribute to more sustainable consumption patterns.
CHALLENGE
Portugal’s seafood system is facing increasing pressure. Marine ecosystems are becoming more fragile as fish stocks decline, putting long-term ecological stability at risk.
At the same time, artisanal fishermen struggle to earn a sustainable income. Competing with industrial fishing, they face price pressure, limited market access, and low visibility within the current food system.
Seafood consumption continues to rise, further intensified by tourism and expectations of constant availability. This demand is disconnected from seasonality, limited resources, and sustainable fishing practices.
Within these conditions, bycatch emerges as a systemic issue, positioned between ecological limits, economic survival, and consumption patterns. The challenge was to explore how service design could address these tensions by creating new connections between people, the sea, and artisanal fishing practices.
PROBLEM
Based on the system-level challenges, several structural problems can be identified within Portugal’s seafood system. These problems highlight where tensions become visible and where intervention is needed.
Fragile Marine Ecosystems
Fish stocks are declining, increasing pressure on marine ecosystems and limiting long-term ecological stability.
Economic Pressure on Artisanal Fishermen
Small-scale fishermen struggle to compete with industrial fishing and often lack fair access to markets and income.
Demand Exceeds Sustainable Supply
High seafood demand, intensified by tourism, creates expectations of constant availability despite limited resources and seasonality.
Research Question:
How can everyday seafood habits change, to support, fishermen, marine ecosystems and consumers?
RESEARCH
The research explored everyday seafood consumption habits in Portugal and the factors that make sustainable choices difficult.
Within the one-month scope, the research combined desk research with three qualitative interviews focused on consumption behavior. Findings were synthesized to identify recurring attitudes, uncertainties, and decision patterns around seafood choices, especially in coastal and touristic contexts.
RESEARCH METHODS
Desk Research
Articles and reports on seafood consumption, tourism, and sustainability in Portugal.
Qualitative Interviews (3)
Interviews focused on everyday seafood choices, familiarity with fish species, cooking confidence, and perceived risk. Two portuguese citizens and one tourist were interviewed.
Insight Synthesis
Clustering interview findings into distinct attitudes toward seafood consumption.
Seafood as a Coastal Default
''When I’m at the sea in Portugal, eating fish just feels obvious.''
''Fish is part of the coastal experience,
I don’t really think about which one.''
''On holiday, I always choose fish. It feels local.''
Perceived Risk
“If I don’t recognize the fish, I’m afraid I might choose the wrong one.”
“I worry about food poisoning if I buy something unfamiliar.”
“Unknown fish names make me hesitate.”
Familiarity Drives Confidence
Need for Guidance
“I usually order dorade because I know it.”
“I’d try something new if someone explained it to me.”
“At home, I only cook fish I’m familiar with.”
“I’m open, but I need to feel safe about it.”
“If I don’t know how to prepare it, I won’t buy it.”
“If I knew how it’s cooked, I’d be more willing to try.”
KEY INSIGHTS
1. Place triggers habits
Coastal and holiday contexts make fish the default choice, often without reflection.
2. Unfamiliarity feels risky
Unknown fish species are avoided because they are linked to uncertainty and safety concerns.
3. Confidence comes from know-how
People repeat what they can recognize or cook; lack of cooking knowledge limits exploration.
4. Curiosity needs reassurance
Openness exists, but trying new fish depends on guidance, explanation, and social safety.
DESIGN DECISIONS
The design criteria define what the service needs to achieve based on the research insights.
The following design decisions translate these criteria into how the service should act, shaping the structure, interactions, and touchpoints of the concept.
Design Criteria
Reduce perceived risk
Build familiarity
Enable guided exploration
Embed learning into experience
Design Decision
Use shared experiences to introduce bycatch
Introduce bycatch through known formats and contexts
Create low-threshold, supported ways to try unfamiliar fish
Anchor storytelling and knowledge in real consumption moments
Design Decisions: Meaning and Components
Use shared experiences to introduce bycatch
Introduce bycatch through known formats and contexts
Create low-threshold, supported ways to try unfamiliar fish
Anchor storytelling and knowledge in real consumption moments
Bycatch should be introduced in social settings rather than through individual choices. Shared experiences help reduce uncertainty and make trying unfamiliar fish feel safer.
New fish species should appear within familiar food formats and trusted settings, allowing people to explore without changing their existing routines.
People need guided and low-risk opportunities to try unfamiliar fish, where support is part of the experience.
Information about bycatch, fishing practices, and sustainability should be shared while people are eating, tasting, and engaging with food, not separated from the experience.
BYCATCH AS A CENTRAL LEVER: BARRIER MAP
Bycatch was defined as the central element of the project.
Rather than being treated as a byproduct, it serves as an entry point to address seafood habits, perceived risk, and missing connections within the system.
This focus directly responds to the research question and frames bycatch as a tangible way to support both artisanal fishermen and marine ecosystems.
The following map illustrates why bycatch is currently not chosen and where design decisions can intervene.
INTERVENTION
The intervention named MaréMar translates the design decisions into a tangible service experience that makes bycatch accessible, understandable, and safe to explore.
Rather than asking people to actively change their habits, the service intervenes in moments where seafood consumption already takes place. Bycatch is introduced through shared experiences, familiar contexts, and guided interactions, allowing learning and trust to emerge naturally.
The intervention consists of two interconnected elements:
a physical harbor dinner experience and a digital platform that extends the experience over time.
SERVICE EXPERIENCE JOURNEY
Design decisions applied:
-Introduce bycatch through known formats and contexts
-Create low-threshold, supported ways to try unfamiliar fish
Design decisions applied:
-Anchor storytelling and knowledge in real consumption moments
-Create low-threshold, supported ways to try unfamiliar fish
Design decisions applied:
-Use shared experiences to introduce bycatch
-Anchor storytelling and knowledge in real consumption moments
Design decisions applied:
-Create low-threshold, supported ways to try unfamiliar fish
-Introduce bycatch through known formats and contexts
ROLES WITHIN THE INTERVENTION
Digital Platform
The website acts as the central digital touchpoint of the service. It provides information about upcoming harbor dinners, introduces the concept of bycatch, and offers simple recipes to continue the experience at home. For: Participants before and after the physical event. Impact: Reduces uncertainty before participation and supports habit continuation after the event by making bycatch more approachable in everyday contexts.
Dinner Experience
The harbor dinner is the core physical intervention. It brings people together in a shared dining setting where bycatch is served as part of a guided meal. For: Participants who want to explore seafood in a social and experiential way. Impact: Uses shared experience to reduce perceived risk, build familiarity, and embed learning directly into the act of eating.
Artisanal Fishermen
Artisanal fishermen host the dinners and share personal stories about the fish being served, including its ecological and economic relevance. For: Participants seeking trust, transparency, and connection to fishing practices. Impact: Builds credibility and emotional connection, strengthens the visibility of artisanal fishing, and creates trust around unfamiliar fish species.
Participants
Participants engage with the service across physical and digital touchpoints, from discovery to post-event continuation. For: People interested in seafood, sustainability, or local food experiences. Impact: Gain confidence to explore unfamiliar fish, integrate bycatch into everyday habits, and make more conscious seafood choices over time.
involved in every step of the user journey
ANSWERING THE RESEARCH QUESTION
How can seafood habits evolve in a way that allows both artisanal fishermen and marine ecosystems to benefit sustainably?
The intervention answers this question by embedding bycatch into existing seafood consumption moments, with the aim of integrating it into everyday habits.
By making bycatch familiar and safe to explore during shared experiences, and by enabling people to cook it at home through simple website recipes, the service supports behavior beyond the event itself.
This helps reduce edible fish waste, eases pressure on overfished species, and encourages long-term, more sustainable seafood practices that benefit both artisanal fishermen and marine ecosystems.
EFFECT
For Consumers
Builds trust and confidence around unfamiliar fish by embedding bycatch into shared experiences and everyday cooking. Sustainable seafood becomes an accessible and enjoyable part of daily habits rather than a moral obligation.
For artisanal fishermen
Increases visibility of small-scale fishing practices and creates appreciation for bycatch as a valuable resource. Direct interaction and storytelling help strengthen trust and support more stable income opportunities.
For marine ecosystems
Reduces edible fish waste by encouraging the consumption of underutilized species. This helps ease pressure on overfished stocks and contributes to more balanced marine ecosystems over time.
Open Question:
How can the digital platform better connect people to places where bycatch is available, ensuring that awareness and experience translate into long-term behavior change?