Our approach

We believe new models and approaches are desperately needed in order to deliver coordinated fishery transformation at scale. That’s why we work to generate systemic change in fisheries through a progression of coordinated activities developed in collaboration with stakeholders whereby stocks are managed more sustainably, fishery communities maintain resilient economies, and fishers and seafood workers benefit from improved social equity and livelihoods.

The core challenges we address

Overfishing is a distinctly human issue. Our oceans are in crisis at a time when 37 percent of the global population lives in coastal communities.

Current players face an array of challenges.

Where government regulations have fallen short, fishery development organizations have stepped in, but with limited resources. Initiatives that define overfishing exclusively as an environmental issue are met with equally narrow funding, and results are limited in scope and scalability.

There is no shortage of private and public capital seeking to invest in the health of our oceans in ways that impact the environment and the social and economic well-being of local communities. However, a fragmented marketplace of siloed fishery development solutions combined with the lack of impact and return demonstrated in investments to date means this capital isn’t adequately tapped.

Across the world, the scenario is familiar. Fishing communities want to operate efficiently and sustainably for their own long-term viability. Supply chains seek transparency to reduce risk and differentiate their products. Funders want to invest in opportunities that meet their risk/reward and impact profiles. But how do you align these interests through a complimentary strategy and make meaningful, actionable change?

Poor prices and no incentive to fish responsibly

Better prices for responsible fishers

Wasteful (spoiled product, discarded low value fish)

Efficient/utilizes everything

Lots of steps between boat and plate

Shorter links

Opaque supply chains can hide exploitation

Transparent and socially responsible

Fragmented and fractured

Traceable

Commodity fish

Storied fish

Fishers have little control over sales

Equitable supply chain that empowers fishers

How we effect fisheries transformation

Future of Fish develops platforms and solutions that reduce complexity and enable stakeholders to engage. We look at ocean challenges, see the system underlying them and build collaborations to effectively apply resources for fisheries transformation. We bring a wide range of stakeholders to the table to facilitate connections, align strategies and match resources to projects. Given the variety of global and local stakeholders, creative collaboration presents a significant opportunity to share the risks inherent in change creation. How do we make this happen?

Our approach…

is human

We ensure our work is grounded in understanding human behavior to solve the complex, human problem of overfishing.

builds incentives

We develop solutions that appeal to the varied interests of our constituents through incentives aligned to better business practices and profitability.

creates value

We make the business case for catalyzing change through a focus on both generating new value and capturing lost value in supply chains.

develops collaborations

We seek to leverage existing and create new resources for increased knowledge, capacity and capital flow among fishery stakeholders.

maximizes resources

We’re the connector, and we listen and learn from those in fisheries, supply chains and across the spectrum of government, civil society and investment to develop platforms and solutions that incentivize actors to collaborate toward actionable change.

unlocks capital

We work to expand the pool of capital, understand investor risk/reward profiles and de-risk investments through creative structuring, all with the aim of funding scalable interventions for fisheries transformation.

is scalable

We work with organizations that range from the community level to international development to create cross-collaborative solutions that maximize the effectiveness of both grassroots and at-scale strategies.

is engaged

We do not just think and design, we implement our platforms with our partners on the ground. Through active engagement with communities, we learn and adapt our solutions to increase their effectiveness. We consider ourselves a stakeholder in the efforts to achieve fishery transformation.