Adaptation and Networking for a Responsible Seafood Supply Chain in the Philippines

Under the Fish Right Program, USAID complements ecosystem improvement approaches with socio-economic strategies, particularly by strengthening market-based incentives for legal and responsible fishing practices. In the Philippines, enlightened business intermediaries could best provide the helpful market signal. However, established intermediaries only promoted imported certified sustainable seafood because domestic sourcing was unreliable in quantity and quality, and unverifiable in sustainability. Using the Collaboration-Learning-Adaptation (CLA) approach, Fish Right worked with supply chain actors and government agencies to develop and implement the Responsible Seafood Sourcing (RSS) Standards that are practical, verifiable and adapted to the Philippine market and regulatory context. The RSS Standards filled a need that existing international sustainability certification could not address. Fish Right catalyzed and nurtured relationships among the stakeholders who practice responsible fishing, processing and marketing. A group of early adopters in the seafood industry formalized a Better Seafood Philippines movement that is committed to sustain the RSS initiatives. Fish Right continues to support the network of active RSS practitioners by regularly convening technical working group meetings and organizing study tours for fishing communities, among other actions. Initial results show that RSS has improved income and access to markets for Indigenous communities and women-led fish processing organizations. Fish Right is strengthening social analyses to further improve equity across the value chain. The program continues to use the CLA approach in assessing the impact of RSS on the conservation of fisheries resources and on the well-being of stakeholders as the domestic market for responsibly-sourced seafood in the Philippines grows.