The National Fisheries Institute at its 59th annual meeting in Long Beach, Calif., took its first steps toward expanding the trade association’s outreach to consumers.

The NFI board agreed to a seven-fold increase of the group’s communications budget during its meeting on Sunday, NFI President John Connelly told The Wave. Connelly declined to say specifically how much the association would be spending on the outreach effort.

Connelly was quick to clarify that NFI is not embarking a generic marketing effort, a long-time point of contention within the group, but rather is looking to improve the way NFI communicates with the media, as it seeks to spread the message about the positive aspects of seafood.

“NFI