The market for sustainable seafood drives transformative change in fishery social-ecological systems

Travaille, K. L.; Lindley, Jade; Kendrick, Gary A.; Crowder, Larry B.; Clifton, Julian

doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2019.05.003

Cited by 24 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The number of certified fisheries is growing [18] and many different types of certification schemes are now available [29]. Even though debate remains over the effectiveness of market-based mechanisms to enhance environmental management [66][67][68], there is some empirical evidence of environmental improvements and sustainability outcomes due to certification [28,61].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Competition with ecolabeled products and the desire for other benefits of the certification eventually incentivise fisheries that are less sustainable to invest time and resources in the transformative change that is required to drive improvements, including partnerships and interactions with other players (e.g. supply chain actors, managers, environmental NGOs) [61]. Even though the pathways to change were mapped in an 'outcomes framework,' a survey to test of whether the assumed pathways and result chains actually occur as posited by the MSC had not been previously developed.…”

Section: Survey Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Shifting focus: The impacts of sustainable seafood certification

et al. 2020

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Alongside government driven management initiatives to achieve sustainable fisheries management, there remains a role for market-based mechanisms to improve fisheries outcomes. Market-based mechanisms are intended to create positive economic incentives that improve the status and management of fisheries. Research to understand consumer demand for certified fish is central but needs to be mirrored by supply side understanding including why fisheries decide to gain or retain certification and the impact of certification on them and other stakeholders involved. We apply semi-structured interviews in seven different Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified fisheries that operate in (or from) Western Australia with the aim of better understanding fisheries sector participation in certification schemes (the supply side) and the impacts and unintended benefits and costs of certification. We find that any positive economic impacts of certification were only realised in a limited number of MSC fisheries in Western Australia, which may be explained by the fact that only a small proportion of Western Australian state-managed fisheries are sold with the MSC label and ex-vessel or consumer market price premiums are therefore mostly not obtained. Positive impacts of certification in these Western Australian fisheries are more of a social and institutional nature, for example, greater social acceptability and increased efficiency in the governance process respectively. However, opinion is divided on whether the combined non-monetary and monetary benefits outweigh the costs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Survey Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shifting focus: The impacts of sustainable seafood certification

et al. 2020

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“…None of these fisheries have realized a price premium from certification-the Western Australia rock lobster fishery primarily reaches the Asian market which traditionally does not place a premium on sustainability, and the Mexican and Bahamian spiny lobster fisheries have not had their chain of custody certified or had MSC logos placed on their products due the additional cost associated with its use (Bellchambers et al, 2016;Pérez-Ramírez et al, 2016). However, certification of Bahamian spiny lobster ensured continued access to the United States market (Travaille et al, 2019) and certification of the Western Australia rock lobster did help the fishery access European markets and reduced European Union tariffs on Australian seafood (Phillips et al, 2003;Marine Stewardship Council, 2009). There have been several nonmonetary benefits to each of these reef fisheries from certification, however, including improved scientific understanding and management of the fisheries, identification of specific actions for improved sustainability, greater coordination and participation of stakeholders in the fisheries management process, and increased governmental support to communities.…”

Section: Certification Schemesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The diverse set of market-based strategies also continues to evolve, as practitioners, researchers, and advocates continue to meld, shape, and innovate in the field. Last, a growing literature has begun to evaluate the impacts of these initiatives (CEA, 2014(CEA, , 2020aCarlson and Palmer, 2016;Cannon et al, 2018;Travaille et al, 2019;Arton et al, 2020), but it is still a relatively underdeveloped space in terms of science and evidence, which provides ample opportunity for researchers seeking to evaluate these practices and their level of impact on nature and people.…”

Section: Moving Market-based Interventions Into Reef Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reef Conservation off the Hook: Can Market Interventions Make Coral Reef Fisheries More Sustainable?

Cramer

Kittinger

2021

Front. Mar. Sci.

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The overexploitation of coral reef fisheries threatens the persistence of reef ecosystems and the livelihoods and food security of millions of people. Market-based initiatives to increase fisheries sustainability have been widely implemented in industrialized commodity fisheries, but the suitability of these initiatives for coral reef fisheries has not been systematically investigated. Here, we present a typology of market-based interventions and coral reef fisheries sectors and identity promising approaches for each fishery archetype. For high value, export-oriented reef fisheries that are highly unsustainable (live reef food fish and dried sea cucumbers), traditional regulatory efforts including trade restrictions will be most effective. For high-value, export-oriented fisheries for highly fecund invertebrates (lobsters and mollusks), certification and ratings efforts, fishery improvement projects, and sustainable purchasing commitments can improve fishing practices and increase fisher market access and revenue. For lower-value fisheries targeting species for domestic or regional consumption, sustainable purchasing commitments among local buyers, consumer awareness campaigns, and local certification and ratings schemes hold promise for shifting attitudes toward sustainability and increasing food security for local communities. Finally, fisher empowerment efforts including direct access to local markets and market information, training on improved post-harvest methods, and formation of fisher associations hold promise for increasing fisher incomes, reducing wasteful catch, increasing food security, and de-incentivizing unsustainable practices. Despite the potential of market-based interventions, specific approaches must be carefully tailored to the ecological and social reality of these systems, including the inherent unsustainability of commercial coral reef fisheries, the limited capacity for fisheries governance, the limited financial support of market-based initiatives, and the threatened status of coral reef ecosystems globally.

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“…Certification can play a role in enabling collective problem solving by providing a set of goals and criteria (Healey, 1998) which can stimulate a shared ambition for joint-problem solving. Certification can also provide a timeline for improvement, enabling actors within these collaborative arrangements to resolve key environmental issues (Thomas Travaille et al, 2019). Certification may also serve as a boundary object, providing a (at least perceived) neutral technical set of standards that can depoliticise issues that perpetuate ongoing conflicts between key actors (such as industry and NGOs), such as land tenure, the source of disease or responsibility for deforestation (Eden, 2009).…”

Section: Certification and Aquaculture Governancementioning

confidence: 99%

Rendering social: rethinking the role of shrimp aquaculture certification in Thailand

Samerwong¹

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taught me so much and I am very thankful for having so much patience and for pushing me until I reached the end.Next, I would like to say thank you and give the biggest hug ever to my biggest cheerleaders, my parents and my family who have always been so supportive and encouraging me to never give up. Even though we mostly stayed in different time zones, thanks to online communications those distances were never a problem. In addition to all the love and support they have given me, they have also assisted me on my data collection in Thailand on several occasions. Mom, thank you for always taking care of me when I am at home and becoming my personal driver when I had to go to interviews and fieldwork. And to my dad for accompanying me when we had to go to fieldwork and shrimp events. Without both of you the arrangement of my data collection in Thailand would have been much more difficult, which would have added even more stress to my situation. P'Mars for visiting me and letting me travel around Europe throughout the years. It is good to see family members every now and again and this makes me feel like I am never far away from home. And to other family members, my grandmother, aunts, uncle and cousins, thank you for always passing along warm and encouraging messages. ขอบคุ ณคุ ณพ่ อ คุ ณแม่ คุ ณย่ า สํ าหรั บ ความรั ก แรงบั นดาลใจ และกํ าลั งใจ ขอบคุ ณพี ่ เบี ยร์ ญาติ และเพื ่ อนๆ ทุ กคน สํ าหรั บกํ าลั งใจและความห่ วงใยI would like to also extend my gratitude to my colleagues at the Environmental Policy Group (ENP). Thank you for making me feel like home and for many good memories. I am grateful to have been part of this ENP group and for the opportunity to have met all of you. It is time for me to say goodbye, but I will forever cherish the friendship I have made. Pamela and Nila, thank you for always cheering me up and listening to me when I was feeling down. And special thanks to Corry for her kindness and all the help. Words cannot describe how much you have helped me, answering all the questions and arranging so many things for me.Special thanks to all my friends in the Thai community for the wonderful memories.You have really made Wageningen feel like home to me for the past ten years. I have so many memories with my Thai friends. All the warm welcoming and support which made my staying here feel like home. Thank you to P'Aum, P'Tom, P'Mam, P'Plar, P' Veow and Kees for your encouragement during the last stage of my PhD. And to Alice and her family for cheering me up and helping me with the English corrections. Special appreciation to those who helped with the arrangements for the interviews and to my respondents for giving me all of the valuable data for my research. And lastly, an acknowledgment to the Office of the Higher Education Commission, the Royal Thai Government for the Humanities and the Social Sciences Scholarship program for giving me this opportunity for pursuing my study and to experience this PhD journey.One important thing I have learnt is that this PhD journey is not just about conducting...

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The market for sustainable seafood drives transformative change in fishery social-ecological systems

Cited by 24 publications

References 32 publications

Shifting focus: The impacts of sustainable seafood certification

Shifting focus: The impacts of sustainable seafood certification

Reef Conservation off the Hook: Can Market Interventions Make Coral Reef Fisheries More Sustainable?

Rendering social: rethinking the role of shrimp aquaculture certification in Thailand

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