The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership announced last week it has completed the transition of the Gulf of California Industrial Shrimp Fishery Improvement Project to industry management.
Founded in 2006, SFP is a nonprofit organization dedicated to rebuilding depleted fish stocks and reducing the environmental and social impacts of fishing and fish farming.
The shift of the Gulf of California Industrial Shrimp FIP to industry management marked the end of a five-year process SFP initiated to transition from a manager of FIPs to an organization that “can support the seafood industry in leading improvement itself,” according to an SFP press release.
“From the outset, SFP has always advocated for industrial stakeholders to take the lead on FIPs and related projects, but many of SFP’s original ventures involved the organization starting and even maintaining FIPs on its own,” SFP said in its release. “Since 2012, SFP has been on a mission to transfer all of its improvement projects to industry and to promote industry leadership whenever possible.”
SFP Founder and CEO Jim Cannon said his organization will now operate in an advisory capacity to the seafood industry on fishery improvement projects.
“Promoting this model of industry-led improvement has always been a principal part of SFP’s mission and the seafood industry is ready to take on the challenge,” Cannon said. “Fishery improvement is only sustainable in the long term if it is led by the seafood industry. NGOs have a valuable role in helping FIPs to get going but they lack the money and authority to see every project through to a successful completion. Only when improvement projects are part of the seafood industry DNA will they go viral and deliver a completely sustainable supply chain.”
Cannon said SFP will continue to work with its 30 corporate partners, offering guidance and data to support future sustainability policies.
“Industry must lead from now on,” Cannon said.
