Sustainable Seafood Key to Reversing Ocean Destruction
SBTN has issued new science-based targets for companies operating in the sector, tracking overexploitation and habitat loss.
Increased visibility and mitigation of sustainability-related risks across the seafood supply chain will contribute to efforts to protect the world’s oceans from the climate crisis.
This is according to the Ocean Hub, a collection of organisations co-led by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Conversation International, responsible for designing the Science Based Targets Network’s (SBTN) new ocean targets for the seafood sector.
“Overfishing and habitat destruction from seafood production are among the leading causes of ocean degradation,” Taylor Witkin, Programme Manager of Ocean Metrics and Sustainable Business at Conversation International, told ESG Investor.
“At the same time, seafood production is of critical importance for global livelihoods and food security. For these reasons, there is an urgent need for action in the seafood sector.”
The three finalised targets aim to address three core areas of ocean degradation caused by the sector – overexploitation of wild fisheries, marine habitat destruction, and risks to endangered, threatened and protected (ETP) species.
“[These] targets have helpful overlaps with the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures fisheries guidance – for example, aligned definition of ETP species, criteria for defining sensitive marine locations, and indicators of stock performance,” said Alice Thomas-Smyth, Marine Conservation Scientist at the World Wide Fund for Nature US (WWF US).
Up to 80% of the world’s biodiversity, 20% of mankind’s daily intake of protein, and 50% of available oxygen globally come from the ocean.
A 2023 report published by think tank Planet Tracker forecast that US$55 billion in financing for regenerative aquaculture is needed by mid-century to close a 20% supply gap, with demand for seafood expected to reach 267 million tonnes by 2050.
“The key challenges [to protect the world’s oceans] are preventing unreported illegal and unregulated fishing, adopting technology to minimise bycatch, better traceability of seafood supply chains, and increasing the availability of data on what is caught where and how much,” said Will Oulton, Vice Chair of the Marine Conservation Society UK. “Investors can play a role in engaging with the sector to mitigate these risks.”
“Sustainable fishing practices can improve the profitability of the sector and long-term viability of the industry. Investors who have developed approaches to climate change risk, should understand that the ocean and marine biodiversity play a critical role in stabilising the climate.”
The SBTN Ocean Hub consulted on its draft technical guidance between September and November last year.
“The methods and tools were tested for feasibility, clarity, and ambition during a four-month long pilot in 2024 with four companies with materiality in the ocean and seafood systems,” said Witkin.
The issuance of ocean targets completes SBTN’s initial suite of science-based targets for nature, with its framework spanning freshwater, land and ocean.
Using what’s available
SBTN’s Ocean Hub decided to first develop sustainability targets for the seafood sector due to existing levels of data availability.
“By leveraging available data and engaging across seafood value chains – from suppliers and processors to fisheries and farms – companies can drive meaningful change,” said Thomas-Smyth.
For example, when assessing levels of overexploitation, companies can draw on existing data and indicators of stock health to determine the state of nature and maximum pressure thresholds for each of their targets, she explained.
“While stock assessments are only one component of effective fisheries management and conservation, they are considered the best tool for evaluating stock health,” Thomas-Smyth said.
“In the absence of stock assessments, targets can be developed through ‘data-limited’ methodologies. This involves using performance indicators and reference points to assess stock health, such as those from records of total catch, effort, or catch per unit effort, estimates of stock growth, reproduction, and natural mortality rates.”
Following feedback to the consultation, the Ocean Hub aimed to ensure an optimal balance between rigour and feasibility.
“Rigour was strengthened, for example, by adopting shortened maximum target times from ten to five years, and by adding a cease to source pathway to Target 1 for instances of sustained, unabated overexploitation,” said Witkin.
A group of global investors has previously published a statement calling for better ocean-related data and tools on performance indicators, supply chains, local contexts, and sector estimates to support investment decisions.
They have argued that their understanding of overarching ocean-related risks and dependencies in their portfolios is limited by difficulties translating limited available data into decision-useful information.
Separately, Planet Tracker has a seafood database, which covers over 300 corporates along the global seafood supply chain and covers themes such as overfishing and illegal fishing.
“This first release of seafood-specific guidance is designed to scale up and accelerate corporate action for nature while building alignment with future ocean guidance that will expand to other sectors of the blue economy,” said Witkin.
“Future versions will help drive collective action across industries that have similar and cumulative impacts on marine and coastal resources and ecosystems, increasing companies’ ability to address their impacts on nature and biodiversity in the ocean.”
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