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Transparency in Seafood – What, Why and How?

Author: Tania Woodcock, Project Manager, [email protected]

ocean disclosure projectThe Ocean Disclosure Project (ODP) is a project of Sustainable Fisheries Partnership that promotes transparency in the seafood industry by helping businesses publicly disclose their annual seafood sourcing details. The ODP provides a reporting framework for seafood companies, including retailers, suppliers, fish feed manufacturers, and others, to voluntarily disclose their wild-caught and farmed seafood sourcing, alongside information on the environmental performance of each source. Interested stakeholders, such as responsible investors and seafood consumers, can freely access all ODP company profiles and other known disclosures through the ODP website. Participants in the ODP represent a pioneering group of companies that are committed to supply chain transparency.

What, Why and How?

Transparency has become a buzzword in sustainable seafood initiatives. But what does transparency actually mean? Why is it important in seafood? And how can it be achieved?

What is Transparency?

Tania WoodcockTransparency is the act of disclosing information to stakeholders. The term ‘transparency’ is often used interchangeably with ‘traceability’, but the two have different meanings. Traceability refers to the ability to capture information about where a product comes from and move that information through the supply chain. In comparison, transparency refers to the practice of sharing information, typically with a wider audience. The two practices often operate in unison, but not always.

The Ocean Disclosure Project (ODP) works towards the goal of 100-percent sustainably produced seafood by coordinating efforts to deliver greater transparency in global seafood supply chains. We believe that greater transparency in seafood sourcing will drive improvements in fisheries and aquaculture and help reduce the environmental and social impacts of seafood production.

The ODP is a project of Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP), an international NGO whose mission is to engage and catalyze global seafood supply chains to rebuild depleted fish stocks and reduce the environmental and social impacts of fishing and fish farming. This mission is achieved through engaging seafood supply chains in improving fisheries and fish farming. SFP works with major retailers, restaurant chains, seafood brand owners, wholesale seafood buyers, producers, NGOs, and fisheries management and science institutions in this endeavor.

The ODP was launched in 2015 to encourage and enable seafood companies to voluntarily disclose their wild-caught seafood sourcing, alongside information on the environmental performance of each source. The project started with the support and participation of three UK retailers, Asda (the first company to report via the ODP), Morrisons, and The Co-operative Food, and two aquaculture feed producers, Biomar and Skretting.

In 2017, the ODP became an online reporting platform where businesses can demonstrate their commitment to sustainability and transparency through annual, voluntary disclosures of seafood sourcing. Since then, the project has continued to expand. In 2019, the first disclosures containing farmed seafood sources were published, and, to date, 35 companies from across Europe, North America, and Australia have participated in the project. Participation is expected to continue growing over the next few years through active promotion to industry in Europe, the Americas, and Asia.

Why participate?

Companies that disclose their seafood sourcing are seen to be taking a leading role. By disclosing information in an industry where transparency is still limited, companies position themselves at the forefront of sustainability practices.

Participants can use their ODP profiles to identify the sustainability of their sources; track performance year-on-year; and share sourcing information with customers, staff, and investors, to increase trust and demonstrate progress towards sustainability commitments.

How does the ODP work?

The ODP provides a simple way for companies to disclose through a common reporting template that can be used by all seafood companies to answer: “Where does my seafood come from?”.  

Companies are invited to submit their seafood source list for the previous year, showing the target species, production area, producing country, production method (whether farmed or wild-caught and the fishing gear used), and certification or improvement status for each source. There is no requirement to provide data that may be commercially confidential.

The source list is used by the ODP team to create a seafood sourcing table that contains the list of fisheries and/or farmed sources, alongside information on the environmental performance of those sources, including:

  • GSSI-recognized third-party certifications
  • Fishery and aquaculture improvement projects
  • Sustainability ratings from SFP’s FishSource, Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, Ocean Wise, the Marine Conservation Society's Good Fish Guide, and NOAA Fisheries Fish Stock Sustainability Index
  • Brief notes on the fishery or farm production impacts on the environment.

In addition, an ODP profile contains Information on the company history and its seafood commitments, selected key performance indicators (KPIs), and a global map of seafood sources. Flexible reporting options for businesses include the use of preferred KPIs and sustainability ratings most relevant to the businesses’ goals and market. Participants are encouraged to update their profiles annually to capture changes in their sourcing and update the sustainability indicators for their sources.