A forward-thinking report, Towards Investment in Sustainable Fisheries: A Framework for Financing the Transition, was launched last week by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), and launched in London by the Prince of Wales. It shows that restoring fisheries around the world can be financially rewarding for investors, as well as benefitting fish stocks and contributing to global food security.
The report was developed in conjunction with The Prince of Wales’s International Sustainability Unit (ISU) in the U.K. and the 50in10 network, which works to ensure that 50 percent of the world’s fish are sustainably managed within 10 years.
Its authors point out that 3 billion people rely on fish as their primary source of protein, that fisheries directly contribute USD 274 billion (EUR 203 billion) each year to global GDP, and provide some form of emploment for over 260 million people, 97 percent of whom are in developing countries. Seventy-five percent of global fisheries are underperforming, and the global fish harvest could be 40 percent higher if sustainably managed, which would be worth an additional USD 50 billion (EUR 37 billion) per year, according to the World Bank.
While none of this is news, the report breaks new ground by setting out a framework for developing and structuring fisheries investment proposals to attract a range of private, public and philanthropic backers.
“Ineffective fisheries management has led to declining fish populations and declining value for fishermen and communities, but there is potential for change,” said lead author Kate Bonzon.
The report gives the financial case for fisheries reform, and looks at activities required to transition to policies and practices that promote sustainability of the resource, and profitability for the catching sector and wider value chain. A useful reference section points to other tools and resources that can help in the transition process.
“We have combined knowledge from top finance and oceans experts, to come up with a new investment model for fishing communities, in which investors provide capital to fishermen and fishing-dependent businesses to help make the transition to sustainability, and are repaid by the increasing value and productivity of a well-managed fishery,” explained Bonzon.
A growing international movement to increase the number of ‘sustainable’ fisheries is leading to real change, but EDF points out that there is an urgent need to increase both the pace and scale of reform.
Such change needs buy-in and a coordinated approach between government, industry and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to identify areas for improvement, facilitate actions such as data collection to enable progress to be achieved, and define and reduce risk to attract the necessary investment.
“We know from many examples around the world that the transition towards sustainability can deliver a wide range of economic, social and ecological benefits. The transition to sustainable fisheries should be seen as a ‘no regrets’ investment. It requires capital today to ensure that these benefits exist tomorrow,” explained the Prince of Wales.
Whilst there is global consensus on the need for transition finance, the report acknowledges that there is no current understanding of the total sum required.
In 2001 the United Nations Environment Program estimated that an investment of USD 240 billion (EUR 178 billion) in rebuilding global fisheries would result in an annual gain of USD 50 billion. This scenario assumes that the world’s fisheries would produce 90 million metric tons (MT) of seafood per year, compared to 80 million MT currently, and provide between 27-59 percent more employment, thereby contributing significantly to the socio-economic wellbeing of local communities.
Strategies to help improve the value of the catch include improving quality through investments in better gear, processing and storage facilities or distribution centres, building long-term relationships between fisheries and markets, developing branding opportunities, and differentiating product through third-party certification, to meet high demand for sustainably sourced seafood.
“We have an opportunity to restore our oceans to abundance by putting new tools in place to spur public and private investment in fishing communities and sustainable fisheries. We must bring these tools to scale around the globe so that we can transform our oceans into a sustainable, enduring resource — one that provides more fish in the sea, more food on the plate, and more economic prosperity,” said EDF President Fred Krupp.
There is a growing number of fisheries that show such an approach can work. For example, in Mexico improved management has seen some fishermen earning 30 percent more for their catch, and in the U.S. several depleted fisheries are being rebuilt. Fishermen in Belize are now participating in the enforcement of their fisheries laws and have reduced fishing violations by 60 percent.
“We hope this report can begin to galvanize and channel public, private and philanthropic investment at the scale and pace needed to rebuild the world’s fisheries and avoid widespread collapse,” said Krupp. “EDF calls on governments to establish policies that support sustainable, profitable fisheries and on private investors to invest in sustainably managed fisheries.”
