All over the world, fishery improvement projects have been using the power of the private sector to address challenges in a given fishery. As the number of these “FIPs” has increased rapidly, businesses and conservation organizations have sought an easier way to access consistent, reliable information about the progress and performance of this now global fishery reform tool.
What is a fishery improvement project? A FIP is a collaborative effort among multiple stakeholders whose aim is to reverse environmentally unsustainable practices in a given commercial fishery, whether it is large or small, nearshore or offshore. FIPs typically include an agreement and plan for improvement between a combination of private sector actors, representatives from fishing communities, government agencies and non-for-profit organizations with a shared interest in environmentally and, more recently, socially responsible fishing.
FisheryProgress, an organization supported by our Conservation and Markets Initiative, answers this call by offering a range of information about FIPs, from a quick snapshot of progress and opportunities to get involved, to detailed information about needed improvements.
Now, FisheryProgress has developed a Human Rights and Social Responsibility Policy, which effectively pulls together the most comprehensive social performance metrics and data for FIPs.
The need for this information has never been greater. FIPs have long brought businesses, conservation groups, governments, and other stakeholders together to address environmental challenges in a given fishery and have harnessed market forces to incentivize sustainable improvements. But in recent years, investigations by NGOs and journalists have spotlighted the urgent need to ensure human rights protections in these fisheries.
The FisheryProgress Human Rights and Social Responsibility Policy outlines expectations of FIPs reporting on the site, as a meaningful starting point for improving social performance and providing seafood buyers with essential information to support due diligence requirements.
“Consumers need to know that the seafood they eat is caught in a way that protects both people and the planet,” said Kristin Sherwood, program director at FishChoice. “And businesses that buy and sell seafood need a way to provide assurances that they’re serious about social responsibility.”
The 195 FIPs that are already participating on the FisheryProgress.org web portal have been given clear and pragmatic time frames, decision-support guidelines and criteria to assess their risk and develop a workplan to make needed human and labor rights improvements, if needed.
While some FIPs will, understandably, have concerns about the financial and logistical costs of adding social criteria to vessel and operational risk assessments, there is broad agreement that de-linking seafood production from both environmental damage and human harm in the near term is ultimately good for business in the long -term. Equity and inclusion are values that resonate with more people and in more ways than ever before. This policy helps put a constructive dose of practicality and action behind the words and intent.
To inform the new policy, FishChoice engaged hundreds of stakeholders, including implementers, seafood businesses, and human and labor rights experts, through a consultative process lasting two years. The policy is designed to dovetail with tools and resources developed by other sustainable seafood nonprofits, like Conservation International’s Social Responsibility Assessment Tool for the Seafood Sector and the FishWise Roadmap for Improving Seafood Ethics.
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