Science-based approach paves way for seafood sector transformation
During the annual SeaBOS meeting CEOs of ten of the world’s largest seafood companies reported on progress towards time-bound goals
TRANSDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE UNDERPINS the collaboration within the Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship (SeaBOS) initiative. This has been evident in efforts to identify and eliminate IUU fishing and forced labour activities, which are endemic to the industry.
The approach unites insights from organizational science, satellite tracking of vessel paths, knowledge of on-the-water practices and more to enable risk-based approaches that can extend across entire supply chains and operations around the world.
This effort has shaped understanding of how science-industry collaboration can result in more detailed and impactful science and has resulted in a stepwise expansion of corporate strategies to address looming challenges such as the spread of antimicrobial resistance, and to address the diverse elements of a science-defined ocean stewardship agenda.
During the 2021 CEO dialogue, SeaBOS members agreed to:
- An Endangered Species Strategy (PDF) with an initial scope focused on elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) and seabirds, with time-bound goals for minimizing impacts and for progressively expanding the scope of the work to additional species groups in the coming years
- An “Antibiotics Stewardship Roadmap” to not only phase out key antibiotics, but to reduce overall use across aquaculture production
- Have GHG emission-reduction goals that align with the aims of the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change – namely, to limit global warming to well below 2°C and preferably, 1.5°C
- Reinforce the SeaBOS “city to sea” strategy implemented in 2020 and report on plastic footprint assessments, as well as efforts to reduce or replace plastics in their operations by October 2022.
Progress despite pandemic
Members also emphasised the importance of collaboration across industry, science and policy to ensure that best practice in line with sustainability and ocean health translates into regulatory measures at a global level that support positive change.
It is stimulating and challenging to work with these companies and to see how SeaBOS is starting to generate real impacts. Despite the pandemic, we have been able to continue to develop our collaboration.
Henrik Österblom, SRC science director
About SeaBOS
SeaBOS is unique because it is the first time ten of the world’s largest seafood companies collaborate with science to implement a joint vision to develop more sustainable seafood production and improved ocean health.
The collaboration has been coordinated by the SRC with scientific partners from the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics at the Royal Swedish Academy of Science, the University of Lancaster, and the Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions.
The scientific work is independently funded by the Walton Family Foundation, the Moore Foundation, and the Packard Foundation.
SeaBOS companies represent over 10% of the world’s seafood production and comprise over 600 subsidiary companies.
The members include: