The Role of the Seafood Supply Chain in Sustainable Fisheries

Seafood is one of the world’s most traded food commodities by value, accounting for $143 billion in global trade each year. However, insufficient and ineffective management, coupled with a lack of compliance and accountability, has put many commercial stocks at risk of overfishing—jeopardizing ocean health, trade, revenue, and food and livelihood security. The long-term sustainability and stability of vital marine-derived resources require stronger fisheries management practices and safeguards to ensure that seafood brought to market is legally caught, verifiable and traceable. Stakeholders across the supply chain—from fishers to buyers to consumers—can leverage their purchasing power to encourage governments and fishery managers to improve sustainability and keep illegal, unreported, and unregulated fish from reaching store shelves. Improving fisheries management is not simply a conservation issue; it’s an economic one, crucial to markets for the long-term stability and continuity of supply.

Pew works to increase market support and advocacy for the effective implementation of international treaties and comprehensive management measures to mitigate risk in the supply chain. Together with the private sector, industry associations, and other nongovernmental organizations, Pew also educates stakeholders on ways to support improved governance of international fisheries by achieving policy reforms.