Human rights and social issues continue to be a concern across seafood supply chains and a challenge to effectively address, so many companies and communities are looking for innovative ways to ensure they are operating or participating in responsible supply chains.
Though new tools and approaches that focus on these issues are constantly under development and are gaining traction in the industry, Oakland, California, U.S.A.-based certification firm Fair Trade USA has been applying its internally developed Fair Trade Certified strategy for over a quarter-century in fisheries and aquaculture for the last decade.
Fair Trade’s unique approach offers seafood supply chains the ability to effectively address social challenges, along with environmental and economic challenges, in regions that often have little support, infrastructure, or oversight – conditions that make it difficult for other interventions to engage with fishing communities effectively.
“A big part of what sets Fair Trade Certified apart from all other standards, even social standards, is empowerment. Fair Trade provides a framework for fishing communities to organize themselves. How exactly they do that is really up to them,” said Sven Blankenhorn, Fair Trade USA’s aquaculture and fisheries coordinator for Southeast Asia. “[Participants] need to tick certain boxes during the process. The boxes they need to tick are that they need to be transparent about what they're doing, it needs to all be documented, and the process needs to be democratic. There must not be any discrimination between genders, between migrant workers and locals, between social standing in a village, or any other discriminatory practice.”
In many ways, the Fair Trade program operates like a traditional certification program, as it includes audits of producers against a set of standards that, if passed, results in a Fair Trade Certified label on products in marketplaces across the globe.
What distinguishes Fair Trade USA’s model, however, is it also includes a mechanism through which participating companies pay an additional amount of money that is returned back to the producing community.
These Community Development Funds allow fishers, farmers, and workers to invest in development projects that address their communities’ greatest needs, such as water, education, housing, and healthcare. Those needs are identified through an assessment supported by Fair Trade USA.
One example of the work in action is the Fair Trade USA-overseen skipjack tuna fishery in the Maldives.
Five island communities comprising 650 fishers are currently landing 6 metric tons (MT) of skipjack tuna per year, but they have hopes of growing to 10 island communities landing 10 MT of skipjack with Fair Trade backing, according to BlueYou, a nonprofit supporting Fair Trade programs in the Maldives.
Fair Trade’s Community Development Fund has returned USD 380,000 (EUR 371,000) in premiums back to these communities, which have used these funds to become more climate-resilient, improve waste management to reduce plastic pollution, and even install water purifiers on boats and in communities to reduce reliance on bottled water.
“Guaranteed premiums are certainly a great incentive for fishing communities to engage, and the money itself is driving essential improvements; there's also added value that we have seen in Fair Trade that is very important,” Blankenhorn said. “Having the community come together and work together, having meetings, having a unified voice, they realize that this is very empowering for the community and their businesses beyond the Fair Trade program.”
Though there are plenty of new tools and approaches for fishers and companies to pick from when seeking assistance, Blankenhorn explained that Fair Trade USA’s 27 years in existence does not mean that the certification is behind the times but, rather, that it offers a label that consumers trust.
“For the seafood industry, you have strong consumer recognition of the label. It's not something new for buyers; they know the label from produce, coffee, and bananas,” Blankenhorn said.
With strong brand recognition, Community Development Funds, and more benefits, Fair Trade is continuing to reward seafood industry players who prioritize sustainability, according to Blankenhorn, even if those in the environment around them do not share the same priorities.
“The Maldives are doing so many things right managing their ocean resources, but many actors around them are messing things up and making things difficult for the Maldives,” Blankenhorn said. “So, should we punish the Maldives, or should we reward them for doing the right thing in a bad situation? Our approach is we reward them; they're not contributing to the problem, so we should allow them into the program and get those good products into responsible supply chains.”
