Fisheries Improvement Tools and an Introduction to the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership SFP

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Fisheries Improvement Toolsand an Introduction
to theSustainable Fisheries Partnership SFP
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership

• Jim Cannon, November 2009

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SFP
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership

• Charity, Non-Profit, Non-Governmental
  Organization (NGO)
• Mission to maintain healthy ocean and aquatic
  ecosystems, enhance fishing and fish-farming
  livelihoods and secure food supplies.
• Focus rebuilding depleted fisheries, and
  reducing the environmental impacts of fishing and
  fish-farming.
• Structure and size
• Founded 2006. Distributed, or network, model.
• 3 million a year budget, 25 staff, over 40
  fisheries improvement projects underway or in
  development in 15 countries.
• Funded by US foundations and corporate sponsors.

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Mechanisms of Change to Improve Fisheries
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership

• Traditionally in the US and Europe, NGOs have
  sought to achieve change through public pressure
  on policy makers, by
• Directly educating decision-makers
• Directly lobbying on behalf of their membership
• Publicity campaigns to pressure decision-makers,
  including naming and shaming companies to raise
  media attention
• Lawsuits against managers and regulators.
• In the past 15 years, NGOs have increased focus
  on the private sector, through a variety of
  market based approaches
• An extension of naming and shaming, asking
  companies to stop sourcing unsustainable
  seafood
• Eco-labels, to help consumers identify
  sustainable seafood, aiming to increase the
  demand for sustainable seafood.

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What SFP does not do
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership

• We don't do public campaigns
• We don't do public awareness
• We don't hang off buildings
• We don't define sustainability ourselves
• We don't certify fisheries
• We aren't an eco-label or a fish-list
• We don't lobby government, for ourselves or for
  corporate partners

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What SFP does
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership

• SFP works with major buyers and their suppliers
  to help improve the depleted fisheries they were
  already sourcing from, through..
• Strategic guidance, technical assistance to
  seafood suppliers and producers
• help fishers change practices to meet specific
  buyer demands
• Help fishers and local processors inform
  decision-making bodies on management and
  conservation options
• Convene together like-minded companies in Fishery
  and Aquaculture Improvement Partnerships (FIPs
  and AIPs).
• These FIPs and AIPs build consensus around
  specific improvements in policies, marine
  conservation measures, and fishing and fish
  farming practices.
• We advise major retailers, restaurant chains on
  sustainability strategies and procurement
  policies.
• We develop information systems so buyers and
  suppliers can measure and manage their commitments

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FIP Stages
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership

• Scoping
• FishSource Profile
• Supply Chain Analysis
• Engage Participants
• White Paper
• One-on-one meetings
• Informal Roundtable
• First group meetings
• Build consensus on issues
• Independent 3rd party audit, ideally MSC
  pre-assessment
• Formal Partnership
• Agree workplan and funding
• END Green evaluations by MCS, Monterey Bay etc.,
  ideally MSC certification

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Industry can reduce IUU
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership

• European industry standard supplier contracts cut
  IUU in Barents Sea cod by 75 in a year.
• Russian pollock catchers association voluntarily
  reduces spawning overfishing. The next season
  they got the measures introduced into national
  legislation.

• Over-quota fishing in the Barents Sea

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Industry can improve fisheries
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership

• Eastern Baltic cod

• Leading companies catalyse recovery of Eastern
  Baltic cod.
• Improvement steps
• 2002 E W Baltic TACs split
• 2003 quotas held constant
• 2004 quotas, recovery plan
• 2005 recovery plan
• 2006 long-term management plan introduced,
  crack down on IUU
• 2007 crack down on IUU
• 2008 stock above Blim

"Our industry needs to take care of seafood
sustainability, as the bedrock of our businesses.
We can achieve a lot working with each other and
NGOs like the Sustainable Fisheries
Partnership." Klaus Nielsen, CEO Espersen
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Are there limits?
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership

• Gulf of California Grupo Valdez 2007/8 season
  ran 4 shrimp boats with observers on board,
  electronic log books, BRDs, TEDs, and full
  compliance with no-fishing zones and other
  Mexican legislation.
• Bycatch down 75.
• Unfortunately revenues 15 less than they could
  have achieved by ignoring BRDs and no-take zone
  rules.

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Should I stay or should I go?
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership

• Stay if
• The fishery is above your minimum acceptable
  levels.
• You can engage the fishery and help it start
  making improvements within a defined time period.
• It is making changes in management and practice.
• Stay longer if it's a big important fishery.
• Go if
• The fishery is too depleted or doing too much
  damage to pass your minimum requirements.
• The fishery ignores requests for improvement,
  progress is too slow.
• You're wasting time and resources better spent
  elsewhere

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What do I need to know?
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership

• FishSource because sustainability is determined
  at the level of an individual fishery.
• i.e., Barents Sea long-line cod, not North
  Atlantic cod.
• Fish lists need to provide fishery by fishery
  ratings to maximise relevance to fisheries
  improvement work.
• Fishery Improvement Partnerships because
  improvements require a plan, collaboration and
  investments.
• Proof of improvements not an improvement
  process.
• Independent 3rd party B2B labels, each verifying
  one thing like caught legally, managed
  fishery, lower impact gears etc.
• Sustainable Seafood Metrics System because in
  order to manage you must measure your progress
  and failings.

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www.FishSource.org

• Provides the scientific and technical info for
  DIY ratings.
• NOT a red/yellow/green or buy/don't buy
  rating.
• Freely available on-line.
• Designed so your stock management systems can
  interrogate it automatically, and integrate
  sustainability data right into your business, via
  Sustainable Seafood Metrics System.

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Sustainable Seafood Metrics
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership

• Dashboard to suit your business, and your
  sustainability commitment

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Sustainable Seafood Metrics
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership

• Dashboard to suit your business, and your
  sustainability commitment

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Sustainable Seafood Metrics
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership

• Scores Report fishery by fishery information for
  your buyers

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Walmart and SFP Metrics
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership

• Our buyer group has a keen understanding of our
  sustainability initiatives, but it was imperative
  to engage our suppliers in the process, said
  John Butler, Vice President/DMM of Meat and
  Seafood for Walmart Stores US. The Metrics
  system gives each buyer the ability to see
  whether the fisheries they buy from are on track
  to become MSC certified. The Metrics system gives
  our buyers the information they need to engage
  and encourage suppliers in fisheries that are
  falling behind, and reward those that are getting
  the job done. We not only buy sustainably, but we
  work with our suppliers to make sure that
  fisheries that may have challenges in meeting the
  MSC criteria are working to correct their
  deficiencies in order to keep supplying us in
  future.
• SFP newsletter, March 2009

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Want more info?
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership

• Visit www.sustainablefish.org and download our
  newsletter

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