10 Years of Pre-competitive Collaboration in the Seafood Supply Chain: What Have we Learned?

Speakers:
Quentin Marchais, Lead, Sustainable Seafood team - ClientEarth
Carmen Gonzalez-Valles, EU Markets director - Sustainable Fisheries Partnership
Sarah Hussey, Fisheries Manager - Sea Farms LTD
Oliver Tanqueray, Sustainable Seafood Coalition Coordinator - ClientEarth

Precompetitive collaboration in the seafood industry has been at the forefront of transformative change towards improved seafood sustainability in supply chains internationally. For the past 10 years, collaborative industry platforms have multiplied in various markets around the world. These initiatives span various geographies and cover a range of topics. Some focus on a country whilst some aim to address transversal sustainability challenges faced by the sector. Over the years, these platforms have accumulated invaluable experience. We know today that there is no one size fits all solution, and that there are incredible differences between different seafood markets which justify the need for different approaches and modus operandi of these initiatives. This year, the Sustainable Seafood Coalition is looking back at 10 years of collaboration in the UK seafood industry, an excellent milestone to reflect on the journey and the main successes and challenges along the way. As believers that buyers have a significant role to play in improving the fishery (or aquaculture activity) they source from, our session aims at providing a space to reflect on achievements of the SSC after 10 years and together with upcoming opportunities, and compare with similar initiatives in another geography, including the “Plataforma por la Sostenibilidad Pesquera” a precompetitite platform in Spain. Taking into account the post-Covid economic and political context together with the context of a once in a generation European Green Deal to make our economy more sustainable, the participants will reflect on future opportunities to step up commitments and international collaboration further to strengthen the seafood sustainability agenda.