The Meloy Fund, a U.S.-based impact investment fund, announced 6 December, 2022 it has invested in JAM Seafoods, a seafood-processing company promoting sustainable fisheries in the Philippines.
Meloy Fund was founded in 2016 to conduct impact investment supporting sustainable coastal fisheries in Indonesia and the Philippines.
The fund said its latest investment, the value of which has not been revealed, will stimulate JAM’s growth and expansion, better post-harvest handling of fish through the construction of ice plants in major sourcing locations, and provide pre-financing for fishing trips.
“This is a unique investment for the Meloy Fund, as it brings together our key learnings in creating triple bottom-line impact,” Meloy Fund Principal Chester Pacio said. “We are pleased to support JAM Seafood’s visionary founder, Sam Garcia, who helped guide the first small-scale tuna handline fishery in the Philippines through to [Marine Stewardship Council] certification. Our investment and technical assistance will provide support to grow the business, maximize the benefits of the MSC certification, and return benefits to fishers.”
Meloy Fund said this is the first time it has allocated part of its investment for the pre-financing of fishing trips. Normally, if fishers receive financing from traders, they must deduct the price of their catch sold to the traders, which may account for between 5 and 30 percent of their per-trip proceeds. The U.S. fund estimates that at least 80 vessels with up to 240 fishers will benefit from its pre-financing.
“We are excited that a portion of the fund’s investment is specifically earmarked for pre-financing the activities of small-scale coastal fishers,” Meloy Fund Environmental, Social, Governance, and Impact Manager Veronica Yow said. “Providing this upfront financing reduces the risk of potential debt bondage of fishers, improves quality and incomes, and secures loyal supply chains of sustainably caught seafood for JAM.”
Meloy Fund’s technical assistance facility will also provide support for the Philippine Tuna Handline Partnership - the first fishery in the Philippines to achieve MSC certification.
Operating under the PTHP are the Philippines Association of Tuna Processors, Inc. (PATPI), which is led by Sam Garcia of JAM Seafoods, and two other fishing groups.
“With our expansion to different fishing areas, we aim to improve our quality at source that can also uplift the lives of the fishers that we work with. With Meloy’s technical assistance, this will improve and stabilize PTHP as an organization and its systems to better support our sustainability efforts,” JAM Seafoods Founder Sam Garcia said.
Photo courtesy of the Meloy Fund
