sustainable seafood

After a year (or more, depending on where you’re located) of Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns almost nothing about our work in fisheries looks the same as it did before. At the beginning of 2020, we were deeply embedded in on-the-ground projects with small scale fisheries in Peru and Chile, and developing projects in Vietnam and the Caribbean. As the virus first spread, it became too risky for many of our staff and fisher colleagues to continue to work or fish in the field, especially as personal protective equipment was difficult to access in those initial months. And so we began a period of rapid transition, pivoting our efforts to ensure we could support the immediate needs of fishers and their communities.

When it comes to tackling the social and environmental issues of our time, no one organization has all the expertise and capacity needed to solve these complex challenges alone. But together, we can move mountains—or, in the case of fisheries, turn the tide. A recent Partnership Agreement between Future of Fish and One Earth Future Foundation’s two programs, Secure Fisheries and Shuraako, builds on this ethos, and seeks to collectively develop the mechanisms needed for scalable projects that benefit coastal communities and ocean ecosystems. Together, we hope to combine our strengths across capital coordination, creative financing, technical assistance, systems design, and community engagement to support fishers and coastal communities as engines of resilience, peace-building, and food security.

Billions of people depend on fish as a critical source of protein. From lobster divers in Belize to handline mahi-mahi fishers in Peru, communities around the world feed themselves and make a living from the fish they pull from the ocean every day. But these livelihoods are under threat. Climate change is already wrecking havoc for coastal communities in developing countries, with rising seas damaging dockside infrastructure and warming waters driving away traditional fish stocks. The result is loss of income, food, and in many cases, cultural heritage.

Peruvian cuisine is synonymous with seafood. From ceviche to arroz con mariscos to grilled octopus, seafood is one area where local ingredients—and chefs—truly shine. What may come as a surprise is that despite the deep love of seafood, sustainable and traceable seafood movements are still very nascent in Peru.

During the months of October and November, we helped to create the space for co-design to occur, and with our partners we conducted 7 workshops across 4 caletas. These were spaces where we rolled out the red carpet for creativity and innovation, and allowed thinking, idea development, and business plan skeletons to emerge: all approaches or ways to improve aspects of the sustainability of the fisheries (mainly hake) that members of the syndicates are embedded in.

Each year, fishermen around the world throw back more than seven million tons of unwanted sea life. This “bycatch” includes everything from whales and dolphins to turtles to too-small juvenile fish, and once they’re pulled up in a net, many are injured or die before they can be released. This is the collateral damage of the fishing industry.

We know them from grocery store checkouts—barcodes and QR codes are ubiquitous on retail shelves. What if that same technology could help us trace our fish? From seafood suppliers and producers to retailers and chefs, the power of technology to promote traceability and storytelling is catching on.

In part 2 of our 4-part series on how technology can help save the seas (with a little help), we turn our attention to innovations in regulation and enforcement. It might not sound exciting, but these companies are using satellites, aerial mapping, and drones to help fight overfishing and exploitation of the oceans.

Snapchat, instagram, remote-controlled drones. Technology is speeding along faster than we can install the latest iPhone update. And with so much time, energy, and money pouring into tech, we’re excited to see new innovations that can help our oceans as well.

How do oysters reproduce? Answers to this and other salty questions of the sea.