For decades, headlines about illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, overfishing, and destructive fishing practices have loomed large over the seafood industry, threatening sustainability, profits, and livelihoods.
What is less reported is how the seafood industry has made great strides in addressing these challenges. Many successful solutions, such as electronic monitoring systems and blockchain for traceability, have already proven effective in specific contexts. The key now is to replicate these successes more widely. By sharing what works and learning how to adapt these solutions to fit different regions and needs, the industry can tackle these challenges on a much larger scale. For example, electronic monitoring has successfully reduced IUU fishing in many areas, making fishing operations safer and more transparent. Sharing these results can inspire broader adoption, allowing users to see how investing in this technology delivers business benefits such as increased safety, greater access to markets, increased efficiency, and enhanced sustainability.
This is where the Seafood and Fisheries Emerging Technologies (SAFET) network comes in. SAFET actively convenes fisheries authorities, the seafood industry, and technology providers to promote collaboration and shared learning. SAFET’s mission is to ensure relevant emerging technology is accessible to seafood and fisheries stakeholders, to enable sustainable use of marine resources. By creating an independent and impartial global platform for dialogue and innovation, SAFET helps build the trust, understanding, and commitment needed to overcome barriers and scale proven solutions effectively.
Scaling Solutions
The seafood industry and fisheries regulators have made notable progress in deploying promising innovations like electronic monitoring systems. Some programs encounter challenges in moving from trial phases to full implementation, often requiring additional support and alignment to unlock their full potential. Addressing these challenges provides an opportunity to strengthen collaboration and create a shared vision, ensuring that solutions can deliver long-term benefits for all participants. With sustained commitment and targeted efforts, the momentum for broader implementation can continue to grow, bringing measurable benefits to stakeholders and communities alike. To enable adoption at scale, it is crucial to consider the longevity and alignment of solutions with user needs. Success requires more than technology alone; people need to trust that processes and policies around the technology are clear and supportive. For example, government buy-in is essential to provide regulatory clarity and long-term stability. Businesses must also be assured that the tools they invest in today will remain relevant in the years to come. Transparency in choosing the right tools and ongoing support for implementation are equally vital to building confidence and driving adoption.
Bridging the Gap
Tackling the barriers to scaling solutions means creating spaces where people can share ideas and learn from each other.
Conferences and workshops play an important role by bringing together diverse stakeholders to share success stories, discuss challenges, and brainstorm innovative solutions. Last year in Bali, the SAFET conference showcased achievements from Southeast Asia and the Pacific, inspiring participants to replicate successes across the region.
Online platforms are another helpful tool, providing a space for stakeholders to continuously exchange insights, ask questions, and co-create solutions. Such virtual environments ensure that the momentum from in-person events is maintained, enabling ongoing collaboration. They also make it possible to connect stakeholders across geographies and time zones, creating a dynamic, ever-evolving repository of shared knowledge that is universally available to all participants, ensuring all voices are heard. By enabling frequent and transparent communication, these platforms help identify emerging challenges, refine existing solutions, and maintain the collective focus needed to drive impactful change.
Highlighting case studies is also vital, as real-world successes demonstrate how existing solutions can be adapted and scaled to meet different needs. Tangible examples allow stakeholders to see what has worked in specific contexts and provide a roadmap for translating those successes into new environments. For instance, a traceability solution that enhances supply chain transparency in one region could be adjusted to accommodate local regulatory frameworks or market dynamics elsewhere. By analysing how and why these solutions succeed, stakeholders gain actionable insights and a sense of confidence that similar strategies can work for their unique challenges. This process not only inspires but also equips practitioners with the tools and knowledge needed to drive meaningful change.
These initiatives ensure that solutions are not only shared but adapted for different regions and challenges. By creating a collaborative environment, stakeholders can build trust, align on goals, and take actionable steps toward scaling impactful solutions.
A Collective Effort for a Sustainable Future
Across the globe, efforts to address illegal fishing, overfishing, and unsustainable practices have demonstrated that change is possible when stakeholders unite around shared goals. By enabling collaboration and knowledge-sharing, initiatives like SAFET help the industry to bridge gaps in awareness and collaboration, turning individual successes into collective progress. Proven solutions can be scaled by adapting them to different cultural, economic, and ecological situations. This not only builds a sustainable future for our oceans but also strengthens the livelihoods and resilience of communities that depend on them.
FISH-TECH-CONNECT is SAFET’s new online community platform, designed to connect seafood stakeholders, technology providers, and regulators from around the world. This dynamic space allows participants to share insights, discuss challenges, and collaborate on innovative solutions in real time through technology and user discussion forums, webinars and workshops, and our resource library. Whether you’re a fisher looking for practical tools, or a technology provider with cutting-edge solutions, FISH-TECH-CONNECT provides the resources and networks needed to drive change.
By joining FISH-TECH-CONNECT you’ll be part of a growing community committed to scaling impactful solutions and creating a sustainable future for our oceans. Join today!
And please connect to SAFET on our website, via email at info@safet.fish, or on LinkedIn as well.
Inga Wise is Executive Director of SAFET. She welcomes your comments or questions at the email above.
