Saving Seafood

SFP and Hilborn Lab launch 8th edition of the Fishery Improvement Projects Database

April 20, 2026 — The following was released by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership:

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) and the Hilborn Lab at the University of Washington have released the 8th version of the Fishery Improvement Projects Database (FIP-DB), marking another major step forward in providing structured data to help track the evolution, scale, and performance of fishery improvement projects (FIPs) worldwide.

The FIP-DB is a comprehensive, publicly available resource that compiles and standardizes data from leading platforms, including SFP’s Improvement Projects Tracker and FisheryProgress.org. With records spanning more than two decades, the database provides a unique historical and real-time view of how FIPs have grown and evolved across the globe.

This latest update highlights the continued expansion of the FIP landscape. Over time, FIPs have increased not only in number, but also in geographic reach, diversity of species covered, and range of fisheries engaged. This growth reflects the rising importance of collaborative management and market-driven approaches to improving fisheries sustainability worldwide.

“FIPs have emerged as one of the leading market-based approaches for delivering improvements in fisheries supplying global seafood markets, with more than 350 projects initiated to date,” said Indrani Lutchman, Program Director of FIP Evaluation and External Relations at SFP. “With each new version of the database, we are better able to capture the scale, diversity, and progress of these efforts, and provide the structured data needed for scientific and robust analyses of their impact.”

A key highlight of this year’s release is the continued evolution of the database itself. The FIP-DB has expanded significantly in both depth and amount of information over successive versions, and the 2026 update introduces two major additions:

  • FIP stage indicators, enabling more detailed analysis of how projects are progressing in implementing workplans and delivering measurable improvements
  • FAO Global Record of Stocks and Fisheries (GRSF) Universal Identifiers, allowing stronger alignment with global fisheries datasets and improving the ability to map FIPs to specific fisheries and stocks.

Together, these improvements will open new opportunities for researchers and analysts to better understand FIP performance and link it to effective changes in policy and governance and, ultimately, improvements in fisheries and ecosystems.

The FIP-DB has helped advance scientific research, providing a key reference for peer-reviewed studies, global assessments, and FIP landscape reports. Beyond the research community, the database serves a wide range of stakeholders, including:

  • Nonprofit organizations, supporting conservation strategies and evaluation of FIP effectiveness
  • Seafood industry actors, informing responsible sourcing decisions and supply chain risk assessments
  • Government agencies, providing consistent, data-driven insights to guide fisheries management and policy.

“Research investigating the emergence and effect of sustainability-related actions requires knowledge of what has been done, where, how, by whom, and with what results,” said Dianty Ningrum, researcher in sustainability science at the Anthropocene Laboratory of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. “Such knowledge can facilitate learning across regions and between sectors, and allow for transfer of knowledge, expertise, and mimicking of strategies. Datasets like the FIP-DB are an important for building such knowledge. The experts developing this platform have been helpful in our work to conduct a cross-sectoral global assessment of actions for sustainability.”

Similar to previous editions, the new version includes an updated interactive Tableau dashboard, with selected visualizations of trends in FIP growth, geographic expansion, species coverage, and performance indicators. The dashboard enables users to explore how the FIP landscape has developed over time and to identify key patterns and trends.

For more information and access to the database and dashboard, visit:
https://sustainablefisheries-uw.org/databases/fishery-improvement-projects-database/

Markets Call for Regional Coordination in Pacific Jumbo Squid Fishery

October 22, 2025 — The following was released by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership:

At the international CONXEMAR 2025 fair, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) and Pesca Sustentable brought together industry leaders, European market representatives, and delegates from jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) producing countries to analyze the status of the resource and its market impacts.

The panel, “Jumbo Squid: Science, Management, and Markets,” emphasized three key points: the need for regional cooperation, growing market uncertainty from fluctuating supply, and increased demand for traceability and responsible production across the value chain.

A Resource Under Pressure

Jumbo squid, the world’s largest cephalopod fishery by volume, is facing environmental variability, limited regional stock data, and a lack of coordinated management among producing countries. These issues create commercial uncertainty, particularly in Europe—the main destination market—where declining yields and recent fishing bans have raised concerns.

Science-Based Regional Management Needed

Panelists agreed that stabilizing supply requires stronger cooperation within the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization (SPRFMO), harmonized measures, and improved scientific data.

Alfonso Miranda, President of CALAMASUR, said:

“Chile and Peru have made significant progress, but without a stronger regional response within SPRFMO, the risk remains. Coordination among countries to improve stock assessment and adopt compatible management rules is indispensable. The market should drive these improvements by conditioning access on traceability and the fight against IUU fishing.”

Yobana Bermúdez, General Director of CONXEMAR, added:

“Jumbo flying squid is a key resource for Spain and Europe. The EU’s new traceability requirements aim to ensure a stable supply and better management. Coastal States must coordinate to guarantee transparency and supply stability, facilitating access to European markets under strict HACCP standards.”

Sindy Parraguez of Matsuoka Co., Ltd. noted:

“Instability in Peru directly affected our planning. Reliable information—like Chile’s catch data—is vital for strategy and client communication. Traceability and consistent reporting are now competitive advantages.”

Traceability and Responsibility as Market Conditions

Participants stressed that international buyers expect greater traceability, compliance, and environmental and social accountability across the supply chain. Expanding digital traceability, legal origin controls, and standardized reporting will help reduce uncertainty and maintain market confidence.

Organizers urged immediate action to:

  • Strengthen coordination within SPRFMO with regionally aligned stock assessments and management measures.

  • Promote public-private traceability and transparency initiatives.
  • Improve real-time data sharing to support business planning and adaptive management..

  • Adopt an ecosystem-based management approach that considers trophic interactions, habits and impact mitigation.

Maintaining stable jumbo squid supply will depend on swift progress in management, traceability, and cooperation. Without firm commitment, the fishery risks decline that could affect the entire value chain.

Report highlights problem of Mexican shrimp laundering, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership says more work needed

October 7, 2025 — The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership has welcomed a new international report highlighting the issue of Mexican shrimp laundering, although the organization – which has been working on the issue since 2018 – notes that there is much work to be done to tackle the ongoing problem.

“I was very hopeful that when the report came out it would really push things forward, but you know, it made the news the first couple of days and then it all died down,” SFP Director of Supply Chain Roundtables Megan Westmeyer told SeafoodSource. “This sort of thing needs continuous pressure from buyers who are using this product.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Walmart Foundation-funded partnership aims to give tuna buyers more complete transparency information

October 3, 2025 — Three fishery monitoring organizations – the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP), Global Fishing Watch (GFW), and the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) – are collaborating to combine their databases to improve transparency in the tuna supply chain. The goal, the organizations said, is to give tuna buyers access to information, including vessel by vessel bycatch data and observer reports, in one place.

The project, which will draw on SFP’s buyer transparency databases, FishSource and Seafood Metrics, ISSF’s  Proactive Vessel Register (PVR) and Vessels in Other Sustainability Initiatives (VOSI), and GFW’s Vessel Viewer and Marine Manager, is funded by grants from the Walmart Foundation.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

SFP, ISSF, and GFW join forces to enhance supply chain transparency in tuna

October 1, 2025 — The following was released by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership:

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP), Global Fishing Watch (GFW), and International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) are collaborating to improve transparency in global tuna fisheries. The groups will leverage their extensive databases to help buyers more holistically assess the environmental impacts and compliance of their tuna supply chains. This collaboration was made possible through grant funding from the Walmart Foundation.

The collaboration will utilize SFP’s FishSource and Seafood Metrics platforms, which buyers widely use to monitor sourcing. It will also integrate information from ISSF’s Proactive Vessel Register (PVR) and Vessels in Other Sustainability Initiatives (VOSI), as well as GFW’s Vessel Viewer and Marine Manager. These databases include sustainability indicators beyond the health of fish stocks and management practices, to reflect market needs and ensure responsible tuna sourcing.

“We aren’t reinventing the wheel. We’re making it easier for tuna buyers to utilize all of the valuable, existing data and resources by putting them together on a platform they’re already familiar with and connecting it with their sourcing,” said Kathryn Novak, Biodiversity and Nature Director at SFP. “By combining existing resources, we can equip buyers with the information they need to make more informed decisions.”

A major challenge in effectively managing tuna fisheries and protecting ocean wildlife is the lack of transparency and inadequate monitoring and data collection of activities at sea. For example, in many longline tuna fisheries, which are known for their significant impact on marine life, observer coverage is below the required five percent. Additionally, vessel-level data on bycatch mitigation practices and the risk of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing remains limited and fragmented.

Strengthening transparency through improved vessel-level monitoring and open data sharing is essential to close these knowledge gaps. By revealing what is actually happening on the water, stakeholders can prioritize action areas, inform coordinated responses, design evidence-based policies and promote sustainable, accountable fisheries management that protects both marine biodiversity and the livelihoods that depend on it.

Buyers will be able to utilize the combined data and platforms to recognize proactive vessels that are reporting their use of sustainable practices and complying with other international regulations at sea.

“Verified transparency is the cornerstone of credible, science-based sustainability,” said Susan Jackson, President of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF). “By contributing vessel-level insights to this collaboration, we’re helping to close information gaps that have long challenged stakeholders seeking to evaluate seafood sustainability. We value our partnership with SFP, whose retailer-facing platforms and policy engagement are instrumental in ensuring that sustainability commitments are rooted in science, transparency, and measurable progress.”

Charles Kilgour, Director of Program Initiatives at Global Fishing Watch, said: “We’re excited to contribute to a collaboration that empowers tuna buyers with the information they need to make responsible sourcing decisions. By integrating key data sources into a platform already familiar with industry, we’re helping build a broader and more inclusive understanding of vessel-level activity – including data gaps and key risk indicators. This enables industry to better target risk mitigation efforts and strengthens accountability and cooperation between government and industry, in a way that is driving a shift to more sustainable and transparent policies.”

SFP and Hilborn Lab launch the latest version of the FIP database

February 13, 2025 — The following was released by Sustainable Fisheries Partnership:

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) and the Hilborn Lab at the University of Washington have launched the latest update of their Fishery Improvement Projects Database (FIP-DB). The database is a comprehensive resource for tracking the scope, attributes, and progress of fishery improvement projects (FIPs) worldwide, along with the fisheries they aim to improve.

The FIP-DB compiles and standardizes data from publicly available platforms, including SFP’s Improvement Projects Tracker and FisheryProgress.org, to provide a historical, real-time perspective on FIPs and the FIP landscape. With records dating back to 2003, this update covers the more than 340 FIPs that have existed since then, monitoring over 400 fish stocks across more than 1,000 fisheries globally.

“Robust research relies on structured, systematically collected data to support better-informed fisheries management. This database does exactly that for fishery improvement projects,” said Pedro Veiga, senior scientist at SFP. “As the database continues to expand, so does its contribution to research, with several peer-reviewed studies already relying on FIP-DB data.”

Beyond research purposes, the FIP-DB is also a valuable tool for other stakeholders and audiences, including:

  • nonprofit organizations, providing insights into FIP progress and effectiveness for conservation and advocacy efforts
  • the seafood industry, helping businesses evaluate sustainability initiatives, supply chain risks, and responsible sourcing commitments
  • government agencies, offering reliable and consistently collected information and providing a data-driven perspective on fisheries improvement efforts to inform policy and regulatory decisions.

“The 2025 edition of CEA’s Global Review of Fishery Improvement Projects could not proceed without the robust data provided by FIP-DB. Our exploration of the global FIP landscape and our quantitative analyses rely extensively on the database,” said Max Levine, managing director, and Aaron Saliman, associate, CEA Consulting.

An updated Tableau dashboard is available alongside the database, offering useful visualizations and performance indicators on the FIP landscape. The FIP-DB website also provides details on the database structure, including its variables, data fields, and sources.

For more information and access to the FIP-DB, visit https://sustainablefisheries-uw.org/databases/fishery-improvement-projects-database/.

About Sustainable Fisheries Partnership
Founded in 2006, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) is a marine conservation organization working toward a world where the oceans are healthy, all seafood is produced sustainably, and everyone has access to sustainable seafood. We leverage the power of seafood buyers and retailers in every part of the seafood supply chain to rebuild depleted fish stocks, reduce the environmental impacts of fishing and fish farming, address social issues in fishing, and advance economic opportunities for fishers and their communities. Our Supply Chain Roundtables (SRs) allow seafood suppliers to work together in a pre-competitive environment to promote and support improvements in fishery and aquaculture practices, management, and policy. Visit us at www.sustainablefish.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership: Private sector investments will be key to global fisheries management

November 15, 2024 — Increased debt loads carried by governments around the world are resulting in the need for private sector investments to fund better management of global fish stocks, according to Jim Cannon.

Speaking at the IFFO – The Marine Ingredients Organization’s 2024 annual conference in Lisbon, Portugal, Cannon – who is the head of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, a Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.-based nonprofit that aims to ensure healthy marine ecosystems – said most countries can’t afford better management of their stocks through government funds alone.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership launches toolkit to aid in aquaculture feed decision-making

November 1, 2024 — The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) has launched a Feed Solutions Toolkit for the aquaculture industry, which combines over 80 tools, standards, initiatives, and platforms from multiple organizations to help companies make informed and sustainable choices about aquaculture feed. 

“We want all seafood companies to include aquaculture feed in their sustainability commitments and policies because feed poses significant environmental and climate challenges,” SFP Aquaculture Information Manager Paul Bulcock said. “Addressing this issue, along with continued improvements in farm planning and management, will enhance aquaculture’s role as a low-carbon, environmentally sustainable, and socially responsible food source.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

SFP launches aquaculture Feed Solutions Toolkit for seafood companies

October 23, 2024 — Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) today launched its aquaculture Feed Solutions Toolkit, a one-stop resource for companies to tackle the climate change, habitat, and biodiversity risks associated with aquaculture feed. The toolkit combines over 80 tools, standards, initiatives, and platforms from multiple organizations, along with guidance and case studies on practical steps to improve feed sustainability.

The Toolkit connects seafood companies with tools and resources to make commitments, assess the risks associated with their feed ingredients and implement improvements. Major suppliers and retailers, including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Thai Union, and Walmart, have already set goals and targets to improve the sustainability of the feed used to produce their products or the ingredients it contains.
“We want all seafood companies to include aquaculture feed in their sustainability commitments and policies because feed poses significant environmental and climate challenges,” says Paul Bulcock, aquaculture information manager at SFP. “Addressing this issue, along with continued improvements in farm planning and management, will enhance aquaculture’s role as a low-carbon, environmentally sustainable, and socially responsible food source.”
Aquaculture now accounts for more than half of the world’s seafood, by volume, and is critical to meeting increasing global demand for seafood while offering a low-carbon alternative to other animal products. However, aquaculture feed remains a significant climate change and environmental hotspot, with risks such as land conversion, deforestation, overexploitation, pollution, and bycatch from the production or capture of feed ingredients. It is estimated that aquaculture’s use of compound feed ingredients is responsible for up to 70-80% of its carbon impact and up to 90% of certain environmental impacts such as land and water use.
While multiple tools, standards, and improvement initiatives have already been developed to assist the seafood supply chain in meeting the challenge of feed sustainability, the Feed Solutions Toolkit represents the first time these resources have been curated in one place.
The Feed Solutions Toolkit was produced with funding support from the Walmart Foundation for the project titled, “Addressing the Carbon and Biodiversity Impacts of Aquaculture by Motivating Responsible Aquaculture Practices at Scale.” The findings and recommendations are those of SFP alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Walmart Foundation.
About Sustainable Fisheries Partnership 
Founded in 2006, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) is a marine conservation organization working toward a world where the oceans are healthy, all seafood is produced sustainably, and everyone has access to sustainable seafood. We leverage the power of seafood buyers and retailers in every part of the seafood supply chain to rebuild depleted fish stocks, reduce the environmental impacts of fishing and fish farming, address social issues in fishing, and advance economic opportunities for fishers and their communities. Our Supply Chain Roundtables (SRs) allow seafood suppliers to work together in a pre-competitive environment to promote and support improvements in fishery and aquaculture practices, management, and policy. Visit us at www.sustainablefish.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) and Seafood and Gender Equality (SAGE) Partner to Advance Gender Equity in the Global Seafood Sector

October 15, 2024 — The following was released by Sustainable Fisheries Partnership and Seafood and Gender Equality:

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) and Seafood and Gender Equality (SAGE) today signed a groundbreaking Memorandum of Understanding to advance gender equity in the global seafood sector. The two organizations – leaders in addressing environmental and social responsibility in fisheries, aquaculture, and seafood production – announced their partnership at the Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions annual conference.

The partnership will focus on engaging with SFP’s Supply Chain Roundtables (SRs), to provide them with the knowledge, expertise, and resources they need to address gender inequalities in their respective sectors. SRs, which are convened and facilitated by SFP, bring together major buyers and importers of seafood in a particular sector to work together pre-competitively to scale up individual initiatives and jointly advocate for better fisheries policy and management. This engagement will introduce SR member companies to SAGE’s flagship Gender Equality Dialogues (GED) program, which promotes innovation and workforce development in the sector by co-creating space for industry leaders to develop actionable solutions to address gender inequalities.
“The SRs have a singular purpose – to drive significant and measurable change to fisheries sustainability. We are excited to work with SFP and the SRs to explore the incorporation of a gender component to this work, as it has been shown that, by empowering women and historically excluded groups, we can achieve our goals around environmental improvements faster and at scale,” said Julie Kuchepatov, founder of SAGE.
Because the seafood sector is facing challenges on multiple fronts – from increasing scrutiny around human rights violations in seafood production to an uncertain and volatile business climate – it has deprioritized introspection of its own role in improving the work experience of underserved people in the sector. However, all these challenges are interrelated.
Another key focus of this partnership is to pilot SAGE’s gender equity index tool to assess SFP’s internal operations.
“Diverse workforces attract top talent and reduce employee turnover, and research shows that gender diversity in leadership is linked to higher profitability,” says Jim Cannon, chief executive officer of SFP. “I am keen to assess our own operations and apply what we learn from SAGE’s assessment because we owe it to our current and future workforce to periodically reflect on and adapt our policies to foster inclusivity and, thereby, innovation.”
SAGE is currently recruiting participant companies for the next GED cohort, scheduled to begin in early 2025. If you’re interested in participating in the next GED cohort or would like to learn more about SAGE’s gender equity index tool, contact Becca Williams at becca@seafoodandgenderequality.org. Read more about the GED on SAGE’s website here.