The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) is a Honolulu, Hawai’i-based NGO working to engage seafood supply chains globally in rebuilding depleted fish stocks, reducing the environmental impacts of fishing and fish farming, and ensuring sustained economic opportunities for fishing communities.
Braddock “Brad” Spear is SFP’s prospecting and outreach director and is responsible for key initiatives ranging from the development of management policies for industrial fisheries to forging relationships between NGOs and stakeholders.
SeafoodSource spoke with Spear about SFP’s new strategic plan and how it aims to foster collaboration to take on some of the global seafood industry’s most pressing issues.
SeafoodSource: SFP recently revised its long-term strategy. Can you tell us how the strategy has evolved?
Spear: SFP turns 20 this year. Looking back, we’ve made tremendous progress in scaling fishery improvement projects around the world, building efficiency and greater impacts into supply chains, and providing major buyers with solutions to monitor and support their sustainability goals and commitments.
Despite this progress, many fish stocks are still low or dropping, protected species are still being unintentionally caught and killed by fishing gear, and social issues are as prevalent as ever. Governments in seafood-producing and -processing countries are underresourced to address these issues themselves, and in fairness, it’s not all their responsibility. SFP’s updated strategy, All Hands on Deck, puts the whole seafood sector, not just select leading companies, in the driver’s seat to shape the next chapter of the seafood industry.
SeafoodSource: How does the role of industry need to change moving forward?
Spear: Looking ahead to the next 20 years and beyond, seafood supply chains – from fishers to major buyers – need to take on more ownership and stewardship of our ocean’s resources. We must look beyond fishery improvement projects and certification as end goals and see them rather as stepping stones to long-term fisheries management systems integrated into the seafood industry. Some companies and fisheries are already doing this, and SFP is in the process of documenting examples, practical actions, and ways to measure progress toward this long-term vision.
SeafoodSource: So, is the goal to outsource management of fisheries and diminish the role of governments?
Spear: Absolutely not, governments continue to play critical roles in fisheries management, such as formalizing regulations and enforcing those regulations. We’re not talking about replacing governments but, rather, about making governments more effective by mobilizing industry as a co-investor and co-manager in fisheries governance. A big part of the updated strategy is clarifying and agreeing on roles between governments and the seafood industry. This is needed for ongoing collaboration that leads to stronger fisheries management systems supporting communities, businesses, and our industry as a whole.
SeafoodSource: What are some of the practical actions a company can take to support better fisheries management?
Spear: Fishers and fishing companies can use existing technology or allow scientists to add tools to collect data used to improve stock assessments. In some cases, useful fishing and catch data are already being captured on vessels and in port, and it’s just a matter of sharing that information in a way that protects the industry’s privacy. Fishers, fishing companies, and primary processors are well-positioned to influence fisheries management design and decision-making by organizing and selecting representatives to participate in regulatory meetings. Importers and distributors can ask their suppliers to provide verification that their product was harvested in compliance with regulations and corporate standards.
SeafoodSource: If companies are going to invest time and resources into these efforts, what’s the return or value proposition for engagement?
Spear: Seafood supply chains having stronger roles in management results in many tangible benefits. Better information about fish stocks allows for more reliable and longer-term business planning and reduced risks. This helps meet growing customer demand. Spending time actively participating in fisheries management decision-making, rather than fighting it, results in more balanced decisions that make sense for the industry and the environment. Having more evidence and verification of vessel and fishery compliance gives suppliers assurances and added value to attract and retain customers.
Some people will argue that governments should be taking care of these things. As I mentioned before, governments are underresourced, and matters are getting worse in many countries. There is a critical opportunity for the seafood industry to collectively step up to get more value out of the resources on which it depends.
SeafoodSource: Are there examples of companies already engaging in this work?
Spear: In the Indonesia blue swimming crab fishery, over 1,000 small-scale fishers have organized in a group called Forkom Nelangsa that gathers catch data that has been shared with the government for scientific purposes. The data they have collected have also been incorporated in the stock assessment for the largest crab fishery management area in Indonesia.
In the Southeast Pacific jumbo flying squid fishery, producers, processors, and major regional exporters organized into the Committee for the Sustainable Management of the Southern Pacific Jumbo Flying Squid (CALAMASUR), the Peruvian Chamber of Giant Squid (CAPECAL), and the National Society of Artisanal Fishing (SONAPESCAL). These groups built capacity to advocate for critical regulatory reforms in Peru and the South Pacific, strengthening management and coordination at both national and regional levels.
In the U.S. Gulf shrimp fishery, processors monitored vessel compliance with turtle excluder device (TED) regulations to reduce bycatch through annual compliance checks.
SFP’s corporate partners have been doing this for years by using tools like Seafood Metrics to monitor the status of fisheries and engaging their suppliers and supply chains to improve management of high- and medium-risk fisheries.
