Submissions for the 2018 Seafood Co-Lab Competition are now open, SeaWeb and the Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions announced on 15 December.
With a USD 10,000 (EUR 8,480) cash prize up for grabs, participants competing in the annual Seafood Co-Lab must bring industry experience to bear in addressing sustainability challenges facing fisheries management, aquaculture, resources and supply chains.
Taking a cross-sectional approach, the Seafood Co-Lab Competition stimulates “original thinking by requiring participants to cross-pollinate ideas with innovators outside of their usual professional silo,” said SeaWeb. Winners of the contest will be selected by the seafood community, and be given the logistical and technical support to help implement their idea.
"I am thrilled to see this innovative program go so quickly from concept to reality," said Ann-Marie Copping, OceanWise manager and member of the Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions Advisory Board. "Today's seafood supply issues are simply too large and complex to be solved from within a bubble. Collaboration is key, and the Seafood Co-Lab is perfectly designed to stimulate creative collaborative thinking."
Proposals from teams comprised of both industry and civil society representatives are encouraged, and must be submitted online between 15 December, 2017 and 25 January, 2018 for consideration.
"Over the last 20 years the seafood industry has amassed a wealth in expertise and experience addressing some of the biggest challenges in seafood sustainability,” SeaWeb Program Director Ned Daly said. “The Co-Lab is the mechanism through which we can apply this experience and expertise to new, emerging challenges in sustainable seafood. The Co-Lab program will focus this expertise where it can do the most good, promote positive stories, and give new stakeholders an opportunity to join in sustainability by voting for engaging projects.”
Four finalists will be selected and profiled for the seafood community, with one finalist named as the winner via an online polling process. The announcement of the winning team will occur during the upcoming Seafood Expo North America event held in Boston, Massachusetts from 11 to 13 March. Four members of the winning team will be invited to attend the SeaWeb Seafood Summit from 19 to 21 June in Barcelona, Spain. The event is organized by SeaWeb in partnership with Diversified Communications, and the winners will share their sustainability challenge and proposed solution with summit attendees.
For more information about the competition, click here: http://speakingofseafood.org/seafood-co-lab/enter-2018-competition
