Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Archives

SFP and Hilborn Lab launch the latest version of the FIP database

February 13, 2025 — The following was released by Sustainable Fisheries Partnership:

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) and the Hilborn Lab at the University of Washington have launched the latest update of their Fishery Improvement Projects Database (FIP-DB). The database is a comprehensive resource for tracking the scope, attributes, and progress of fishery improvement projects (FIPs) worldwide, along with the fisheries they aim to improve.

The FIP-DB compiles and standardizes data from publicly available platforms, including SFP’s Improvement Projects Tracker and FisheryProgress.org, to provide a historical, real-time perspective on FIPs and the FIP landscape. With records dating back to 2003, this update covers the more than 340 FIPs that have existed since then, monitoring over 400 fish stocks across more than 1,000 fisheries globally.

“Robust research relies on structured, systematically collected data to support better-informed fisheries management. This database does exactly that for fishery improvement projects,” said Pedro Veiga, senior scientist at SFP. “As the database continues to expand, so does its contribution to research, with several peer-reviewed studies already relying on FIP-DB data.”

Beyond research purposes, the FIP-DB is also a valuable tool for other stakeholders and audiences, including:

nonprofit organizations, providing insights into FIP progress and effectiveness for conservation and advocacy efforts
the seafood industry, helping businesses evaluate sustainability initiatives, supply chain risks, and responsible sourcing commitments
government agencies, offering reliable and consistently collected information and providing a data-driven perspective on fisheries improvement efforts to inform policy and regulatory decisions.

“The 2025 edition of CEA’s Global Review of Fishery Improvement Projects could not proceed without the robust data provided by FIP-DB. Our exploration of the global FIP landscape and our quantitative analyses rely extensively on the database,” said Max Levine, managing director, and Aaron Saliman, associate, CEA Consulting.

An updated Tableau dashboard is available alongside the database, offering useful visualizations and performance indicators on the FIP landscape. The FIP-DB website also provides details on the database structure, including its variables, data fields, and sources.

For more information and access to the FIP-DB, visit https://sustainablefisheries-uw.org/databases/fishery-improvement-projects-database/.

About Sustainable Fisheries Partnership
Founded in 2006, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) is a marine conservation organization working toward a world where the oceans are healthy, all seafood is produced sustainably, and everyone has access to sustainable seafood. We leverage the power of seafood buyers and retailers in every part of the seafood supply chain to rebuild depleted fish stocks, reduce the environmental impacts of fishing and fish farming, address social issues in fishing, and advance economic opportunities for fishers and their communities. Our Supply Chain Roundtables (SRs) allow seafood suppliers to work together in a pre-competitive environment to promote and support improvements in fishery and aquaculture practices, management, and policy. Visit us at www.sustainablefish.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership: Private sector investments will be key to global fisheries management

November 15, 2024 — Increased debt loads carried by governments around the world are resulting in the need for private sector investments to fund better management of global fish stocks, according to Jim Cannon.

Speaking at the IFFO – The Marine Ingredients Organization’s 2024 annual conference in Lisbon, Portugal, Cannon – who is the head of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, a Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.-based nonprofit that aims to ensure healthy marine ecosystems – said most countries can’t afford better management of their stocks through government funds alone.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership launches toolkit to aid in aquaculture feed decision-making

November 1, 2024 — The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) has launched a Feed Solutions Toolkit for the aquaculture industry, which combines over 80 tools, standards, initiatives, and platforms from multiple organizations to help companies make informed and sustainable choices about aquaculture feed.

“We want all seafood companies to include aquaculture feed in their sustainability commitments and policies because feed poses significant environmental and climate challenges,” SFP Aquaculture Information Manager Paul Bulcock said. “Addressing this issue, along with continued improvements in farm planning and management, will enhance aquaculture’s role as a low-carbon, environmentally sustainable, and socially responsible food source.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

SFP launches aquaculture Feed Solutions Toolkit for seafood companies

October 23, 2024 — Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) today launched its aquaculture Feed Solutions Toolkit, a one-stop resource for companies to tackle the climate change, habitat, and biodiversity risks associated with aquaculture feed. The toolkit combines over 80 tools, standards, initiatives, and platforms from multiple organizations, along with guidance and case studies on practical steps to improve feed sustainability.

The Toolkit connects seafood companies with tools and resources to make commitments, assess the risks associated with their feed ingredients and implement improvements. Major suppliers and retailers, including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Thai Union, and Walmart, have already set goals and targets to improve the sustainability of the feed used to produce their products or the ingredients it contains.

“We want all seafood companies to include aquaculture feed in their sustainability commitments and policies because feed poses significant environmental and climate challenges,” says Paul Bulcock, aquaculture information manager at SFP. “Addressing this issue, along with continued improvements in farm planning and management, will enhance aquaculture’s role as a low-carbon, environmentally sustainable, and socially responsible food source.”

Aquaculture now accounts for more than half of the world’s seafood, by volume, and is critical to meeting increasing global demand for seafood while offering a low-carbon alternative to other animal products. However, aquaculture feed remains a significant climate change and environmental hotspot, with risks such as land conversion, deforestation, overexploitation, pollution, and bycatch from the production or capture of feed ingredients. It is estimated that aquaculture’s use of compound feed ingredients is responsible for up to 70-80% of its carbon impact and up to 90% of certain environmental impacts such as land and water use.

While multiple tools, standards, and improvement initiatives have already been developed to assist the seafood supply chain in meeting the challenge of feed sustainability, the Feed Solutions Toolkit represents the first time these resources have been curated in one place.

The Feed Solutions Toolkit was produced with funding support from the Walmart Foundation for the project titled, “Addressing the Carbon and Biodiversity Impacts of Aquaculture by Motivating Responsible Aquaculture Practices at Scale.” The findings and recommendations are those of SFP alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Walmart Foundation.

About Sustainable Fisheries Partnership

Founded in 2006, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) is a marine conservation organization working toward a world where the oceans are healthy, all seafood is produced sustainably, and everyone has access to sustainable seafood. We leverage the power of seafood buyers and retailers in every part of the seafood supply chain to rebuild depleted fish stocks, reduce the environmental impacts of fishing and fish farming, address social issues in fishing, and advance economic opportunities for fishers and their communities. Our Supply Chain Roundtables (SRs) allow seafood suppliers to work together in a pre-competitive environment to promote and support improvements in fishery and aquaculture practices, management, and policy. Visit us at www.sustainablefish.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) and Seafood and Gender Equality (SAGE) Partner to Advance Gender Equity in the Global Seafood Sector

October 15, 2024 — The following was released by Sustainable Fisheries Partnership and Seafood and Gender Equality:

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) and Seafood and Gender Equality (SAGE) today signed a groundbreaking Memorandum of Understanding to advance gender equity in the global seafood sector. The two organizations – leaders in addressing environmental and social responsibility in fisheries, aquaculture, and seafood production – announced their partnership at the Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions annual conference.

The partnership will focus on engaging with SFP’s Supply Chain Roundtables (SRs), to provide them with the knowledge, expertise, and resources they need to address gender inequalities in their respective sectors. SRs, which are convened and facilitated by SFP, bring together major buyers and importers of seafood in a particular sector to work together pre-competitively to scale up individual initiatives and jointly advocate for better fisheries policy and management. This engagement will introduce SR member companies to SAGE’s flagship Gender Equality Dialogues (GED) program, which promotes innovation and workforce development in the sector by co-creating space for industry leaders to develop actionable solutions to address gender inequalities.

“The SRs have a singular purpose – to drive significant and measurable change to fisheries sustainability. We are excited to work with SFP and the SRs to explore the incorporation of a gender component to this work, as it has been shown that, by empowering women and historically excluded groups, we can achieve our goals around environmental improvements faster and at scale,” said Julie Kuchepatov, founder of SAGE.

Because the seafood sector is facing challenges on multiple fronts – from increasing scrutiny around human rights violations in seafood production to an uncertain and volatile business climate – it has deprioritized introspection of its own role in improving the work experience of underserved people in the sector. However, all these challenges are interrelated.

Another key focus of this partnership is to pilot SAGE’s gender equity index tool to assess SFP’s internal operations.

“Diverse workforces attract top talent and reduce employee turnover, and research shows that gender diversity in leadership is linked to higher profitability,” says Jim Cannon, chief executive officer of SFP. “I am keen to assess our own operations and apply what we learn from SAGE’s assessment because we owe it to our current and future workforce to periodically reflect on and adapt our policies to foster inclusivity and, thereby, innovation.”

SAGE is currently recruiting participant companies for the next GED cohort, scheduled to begin in early 2025. If you’re interested in participating in the next GED cohort or would like to learn more about SAGE’s gender equity index tool, contact Becca Williams at becca@seafoodandgenderequality.org. Read more about the GED on SAGE’s website here.

Industry collaboration driving Sustainable Fisheries Partnership’s recent efforts

April 10, 2024 — The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) works at all levels of the seafood supply chain to achieve steady and continuous improvements in fisheries and seafood production.

At the 2024 Seafood Expo North America (SENA), which took place from 10 to 12 March in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., SFP highlighted its innovative approaches to engaging industry, such as through their Supply Chain Roundtables; its support for effective small-scale fishery co-management; and its Bycatch Solutions Hub, which connects seafood companies and other industry players in an attempt to reverse the decline of ocean wildlife populations.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Major seafood buyers support US proposals to address IUU fishing and human rights violations in the South Pacific

January 26, 2024 — The following was released by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership:

More than 30 major seafood companies, industry associations and pre-competitive coalitions expressed their support for addressing illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and human rights violations to the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization (SPRFMO), which begins its annual meeting in Ecuador today.

“We wish to see the Commission accelerate the fight against the IUU fishing in the Convention area by implementing appropriate procedures and measures to identify infringements and violations by vessels on the high seas,” the companies wrote, in a letter submitted to the Heads of Delegation of Members and Cooperating Non-Contracting Parties (CNCPs) to the SPRFMO.

The letter asks the State Members and CNCPs to take the following actions at the 12th Annual SPRFMO meeting, which takes place all week in Manta, Ecuador:

1. Support the introduction of labor issues to the SPRFMO agenda, including the creation of a specialized working group and the establishment of the first Conservation and Management Measure (CMM) on guidelines for crew members’ safety and equitable treatment, as proposed by the US, Ecuador, Australia and New Zealand.

2. Amend the jumbo flying squid CMM to progressively increase onboard observer coverage to 20%, as proposed by Australia and New Zealand.

3. Fully discuss and consider the five proposals on increasing monitoring, control and surveillance to combat IUU fishing in the jumbo flying squid fishery.

The 17 State members of the SPRFMO Commission, including the US, China and EU, will meet from January 29 to February 2 to consider proposals to improve the jumbo flying squid Conservation and Management Measures. If adopted, these actions will improve transparency and controls to prevent IUU fishing in the world’s most important squid stock.

Seafood Companies, Governments, and NGOs Support ‘Seabird-Safe’ Fishing Toolkit

December 5, 2023 — The following was released by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership:

Action and momentum is building across the Asia-Pacific tuna industry to reduce capture of threatened albatrosses and other seabirds in longline fisheries.

Last week, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) joined more than 80 fishing company representatives and government officials from nine APEC economies in a roundtable to develop the Seabird-Safe Fishing Toolkit to help solve the problem of seabirds becoming entangled, hooked and drowned in fishing operations.

The toolkit project is a New Zealand-funded project, with the support of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Oceans and Fisheries Working Group. The project is co-sponsored by Chile, People’s Republic of China, Peru, Chinese Taipei, and the United States. The toolkit will be developed over 2024 and presented to the APEC Oceans and Fisheries Working Group in August 2024.

Mandy Leathers, Senior International Advisor at New Zealand’s Department of Conservation, said the toolkit is a “one-stop shop” that brings together essential information about the ocean areas important to threatened seabirds, the best measures to avoid bycatch of seabirds, and robust monitoring methods.

A growing number of global companies involved in tuna fishing want to address impacts on threatened marine wildlife to meet the demands of their markets. We want to support them as much as we can.

Unlike many global environmental issues, there are effective ways to solve the problem of seabird captures in longline fishing operations. This relies on fisheries having the necessary information, as they have a key part to play,” said Leathers.

Seafood companies Thai Union and Tri Marine, and Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship (SeaBOS) attended the roundtable and support the toolkit.

Martin Exel, Managing Director of SeaBOS, said science-based solutions like this toolkit, developed and implemented by conservation and science in conjunction with industry, are critical to reducing impacts on endangered species of seabirds, and achieving sustainable seafood production.

“Reducing the impacts of fishing on endangered species of seabirds is something we must all do, and having the options and approaches outlined in this way will speed up the process of restoring seabird population health, while also improving catches and returns for the industry. It’s a win-win for seabirds, the seafood sector, conservation, science, government, and industry,” said Exel.

Thai Union’s Sustainable Fish Sourcing Director, Fong Lee, says the development of the Seabird-Safe Fishing Toolkit marks a pivotal moment in their ongoing efforts to safeguard marine biodiversity.

“At Thai Union, our commitment extends beyond pledges. It’s about tangible actions and continuous improvement. This toolkit is a critical step towards resolving the pressing issue of seabird bycatch in fishing operations. By harnessing best practices, innovative technologies, and collaborative efforts, we aim to significantly reduce the unintended harm to seabirds.

Thai Union has already pledged to only source from vessels that are implementing best practices to protect ocean wildlife from bycatch, including seabirds. Our goal is clear – to ensure that our oceans remain vibrant and teeming with life, for the seabirds and all marine creatures. This is a responsibility we shoulder and a challenge we embrace wholeheartedly,” said Lee.

Conservation and Sustainable Seafood NGOs also have a key role in the development of the toolkit.

Alexia Morgan, Ocean Wildlife Manager at Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP), said SFP is engaging with its partner wholesalers and buyers, who want to understand the impacts of their sourcing on the wider ecosystem.

“We have a narrow window of time to stop albatross extinctions. The toolkit will help accelerate progress by supporting these companies in delivering on their existing sustainability policies to protect albatrosses and other seabirds,” said Morgan.

Matt Watson, Senior Fisheries Program Manager for the Asia Pacific at the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), said consumer demands are driving a shift in the tuna sector.

“Retailers, brands and restaurants around the world are choosing to source MSC certified tuna and use the MSC blue fish tick label on their products and menus.

“Fisheries need to demonstrate that they are minimising mortality of threatened species through best practice management measures, which now require independent verification. We hope the toolkit will help fishing fleets navigate these challenges and achieve certification,” said Watson.

New SFP Report: Concerns for South American Reduction Fisheries

October 24, 2023 — The following was released by Sustainable Fisheries Partnership:

South American reduction fisheries continue to decline or are stagnant in their management performance, according to a new report by Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP). Compared to 2022, in the sustainability category, two European fisheries improved while two South American fisheries dropped. The majority of fisheries assessed continue to be reasonably well managed or better, but performance has been slowly declining since 2018.

“Six months ago, our last report recognized rebounds and the industry’s role in supporting improvements in key European reduction fisheries. And, in this new report we see two more European fisheries regaining lost ground,” said Dave Martin, program director at SFP. “But South America is headed in the opposite direction. We hope this will motivate industry, science, government and other stakeholders to come together to reverse this trend.”

The 2023 report marks part 1 of the 14th edition of SFP’s assessments. These evaluate key fisheries based on sustainability scores in FishSource, SFP’s public database of fisheries information. Part 2 is expected to be published in March 2024.

South American countries like Chile and Peru are recognized global leaders in the production of marine ingredients. Countries like Chile and Ecuador are also leaders in production of farmed seafood. Throughout SFP’s annual assessments, reduction fisheries in the region have consistently demonstrated middling performance, particularly in FishSource management strategy scores.

The drop in performance of three South American Fisheries* make these three of the four fisheries in the lowest sustainability category (Category C – poorly managed), after recent improvements in European fisheries.

*Anchoveta – Southern Peru/Northern Chile; Anchoveta Chile Valparaíso (V) – Los Lagos (X); and Araucanian herring – Central-South Chile.

The stalled or declining performance in these fisheries, compared with the recent turnaround in several European fisheries, highlights the importance of increased regional cooperation on shared fisheries, and the critical role that pre-competitive industry and multi-stakeholder collaboration has in improving fisheries management.

“There is a clear need for industry, governments, scientists and others to redouble efforts to support and deliver sustainable fisheries,” said Martin.

SFP Launches New Projects to Address Carbon and Biodiversity Impacts of Aquaculture

September 19, 2023 — The following was released by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership:

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) today announced a new landscape-based aquaculture initiative to create the scale necessary for seafood buyers, processors and farmers to address the cumulative impacts of aquaculture, beyond the farm and the critical environmental and socio-economic challenges they face.

“Retailers and major buyers of seafood are looking for actionable solutions to have a positive impact,” said Braddock Spear, global policy director at SFP. “The time is now to link improved aquaculture production and sourcing to broader goals and positive impact on climate change, biodiversity and strengthening communities.”

Made possible by funding from the Walmart Foundation, SFP will initiate two new projects within its aquaculture programs. These include: 1) organizing market demand in support of more sustainable aquaculture feed and 2) building the foundation and roadmap for landscape-scale aquaculture improvement of farmed shrimp in Andhra Pradesh, India, in conjunction with the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC).

Increasingly, retailers are setting ambitious targets around climate change and biodiversity. Feed is typically the single biggest contributor to the carbon footprint of shrimp and salmon aquaculture. And many feed ingredients (e.g., fishmeal/oil, soy and grain) have direct biodiversity impacts, including overfishing and deforestation. This is driving increased attention and questions about aquaculture, particularly how improving feed inputs can help achieve these commitments.

“We have an exciting and unique opportunity to work with seafood buyers and supply chains to develop collaborative efforts around feed,” added Dave Martin, program director at SFP. “This project will allow us to engage industry to better understand, measure and reduce the environmental footprint of aquaculture feeds.”

SFP will focus industry improvements and collective action to address aquaculture feed sourcing risks. Key products include an industry action toolkit to facilitate positive and aligned supply chain engagement on aquaculture feed sustainability. SFP will work with other leading NGOs and related initiatives to ensure consistency in advice and recommendations.

Currently, only about 24 percent of farmed shrimp from India is certified. As demand from international markets for certified product grows, there will be an urgent need to address sustainability issues at the landscape level, beyond what can be delivered through farm-level certification. At the same time, certification is often out of reach for most smallholder farmers. This project will seek to build strategies to engage smallholder farmers in improvements and certification. Working at a wider scale will enhance environmental benefits and can lead to production and management efficiencies.

“ASC brings world class standards and a proven ability to work with local stakeholders. Our partnership with ASC allows us to provide comprehensive sustainability solutions to Indian shrimp production,” continued Spear. “With the motivated seafood buyers in SFP’s partnerships and our Asian Farmed Shrimp Supply Chain Roundtable, we will seek to harness market leverage and buying power to support on-the-ground improvements.”

SFP will work with the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) and shrimp supply chains to foster landscape-level improvements in Indian aquaculture. The goal is to identify farms, processors and other stakeholders within Andhra Pradesh to make verifiable improvement progress at a jurisdictional level. Using available tools and verification mechanisms, SFP and ASC will build stronger connections between production in this area and shrimp buyers and retailers.

“We at ASC have shared goals with SFP of driving more responsible seafood production, and this project provides us with a great opportunity to advance our objectives and untangle some of the barriers often experienced in aquaculture improvement projects,” said Jill Swasey, head of monitoring and evaluation at ASC. “Our work together will allow us to demonstrate our collective positive impact as we connect on-farm improvements to verified progress at landscape levels.”

In April 2023, SFP and ASC signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance responsible aquaculture production. The MoU creates the path for the two organizations to innovate and scale their efforts in the aquaculture improvement space.

“The Improver Programme by ASC offers a structured and transparent roadmap for shrimp farmers to implement the requirements of the ASC Standards,” said Roy van Daatselaar, ASC Improver Programme global lead. “On top of that, we work with partners to develop scalable solutions that address impacts beyond farm level. We are thrilled to be working with SFP on designing landscape-level improvement pathways that the market can endorse to enable the sustainable transformation of the sector for shrimp farmers in Andhra Pradesh.”