Increased debt loads carried by governments around the world are resulting in the need for private sector investments to fund better management of global fish stocks, according to Jim Cannon.
Speaking at the IFFO - The Marine Ingredients Organization’s 2024 annual conference in Lisbon, Portugal, Cannon – who is the head of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, a Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.-based nonprofit that aims to ensure healthy marine ecosystems – said most countries can’t afford better management of their stocks through government funds alone.
“Governments don’t have money for fish management,” he said. “We expect to see a decrease in fisheries budgets for several decades. Industry will have to fill the gap.”
To fill the gap, Cannon suggested that the fishing industry could help by sharing data with scientists, assisting them with surveys, and lending vessels for such research.
The shortage of government funds for better fishery management comes as the impacts of climate change will make management far more complex, according to Cannon, who said he believes warming of the oceans is creating stratification of stocks.
“Fish stocks we studied 25 years ago have moved on. But, what happens to them? Do they find habitats suitable to them like Iceland cod, which has increased in volume?” he said. “We will see a big increase in volatility; it will be much harder to manage fisheries.”
If alternative sources of financing dry up to better manage fisheries, Cannon said he fears there may be massive gaps in management, which would be damaging for seafood and fish ingredients production. However, he emphasized that well-run fisheries are more lucrative and should provide investment opportunities.
“Better-run fisheries attract lower financing costs,” he said. “Globally better-managed fisheries are more valuable because they’re more profitable.”
Cannon specifically called for financing to come from major food companies and retailers that are motivated by security of seafood supply, as they can provide low-cost financing to help their suppliers improve management and sustainability of their fisheries. He said the soy industry could be used as a model – highlighting how major soy purchasers reduce the cost of finance for producers in return for better management and sustainability practices.
