Key takeaways
- The brand new targets cowl the seafood sector solely.
- They provide firms a structured technique to deal with ocean sustainability and align their operations with scientific thresholds.
- Increasing engagement past seafood, into transport, logistics and manufacturing, will additional strengthen enterprise resilience and ocean well being.
The Science Primarily based Targets Community (SBTN) has launched the first-ever ocean science-based targets, focusing initially on the seafood sector. This milestone completes SBTN’s preliminary suite of nature-related targets, alongside these for land and freshwater, and gives a structured, scientific framework for firms to deal with their ocean impacts.
For sustainability groups going through rising regulatory and investor scrutiny, adopting these targets will sign a dedication to enhance biodiversity whereas addressing dangers to international provide chains.
Why this issues
Continued overfishing, habitat destruction and biodiversity loss threaten each marine ecosystems and enterprise resilience. Seafood suppliers, pharmaceutical firms and lots of different industries supply immediately from the ocean, and marine transportation is crucial for worldwide commerce. Greater than 80% of worldwide commerce by quantity is transported through maritime transport.
Regardless of these materials dangers, there’s a dearth of company ocean commitments — particularly people who transcend blue carbon (i.e., carbon saved in marine ecosystems) to incorporate biodiversity. SBTN’s new targets present a pathway to bridge that hole, providing firms a structured technique to deal with ocean sustainability and align their operations with scientific thresholds, guaranteeing long-term viability whereas mitigating reputational and regulatory dangers.
“With the primary ocean science-based targets for seafood, firms now have a globally acknowledged framework to scale motion throughout land, freshwater and ocean,” stated Erin Billman, government director of SBTN. “These targets assist firms transfer past incremental change, strengthening marine ecosystems, provide chain resilience and long-term viability.”
What’s included
Developed below the management of World Wildlife Fund and Conservation Worldwide — with enter from key trade stakeholders like Sustainable Fisheries Partnership and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council — the targets had been piloted in 2024 by 4 firms with materiality within the ocean and seafood programs, together with Danish aquaculture firm Musholm A/S and Orkla Meals in Sweden.
Following a public session, SBTN refined its method to cowl three key objectives for firms within the seafood and aquaculture sector:
- Keep away from and cut back overexploitation: Guarantee sustainable sourcing of wild-catch fisheries and cut back reliance on overexploited shares.
- Defend structural habitats: Handle the affect of seafood operations on crucial marine ecosystems, akin to coral reefs and seagrasses.
- Scale back dangers to marine wildlife: Mitigating dangers from fishing and aquaculture practices on weak marine species.
Every goal contains a number of pathways for motion, starting from direct operational adjustments to engagement in jurisdictional and ecosystem-based initiatives. For instance, an organization sourcing wild-catch seafood could set a goal akin to: “By 2030, we are going to cut back sourcing of Atlantic blue marlin by 13 % in comparison with a 2025 baseline.”
This ensures that overexploited shares have time to get better whereas selling sustainable practices.
An advance, however extra is required
The brand new targets symbolize a serious step ahead for company ocean motion however solely scratch the floor. Beginning with fisheries is sensible. On the similar time, many different industries additionally depend upon wholesome marine ecosystems. For instance, prescribed drugs and agriculture depend on marine assets, and marine-derived compounds are utilized in medicines and skincare. Fishmeal, in the meantime, is a key ingredient in animal feed.
Guaranteeing that these sectors acknowledge their function in ocean stewardship can be key to long-term success.
The ocean can be an rising supply of sustainable supplies, akin to seaweed-based plastic options that would remodel packaging and cut back dependence on fossil fuels. If marine ecosystems proceed to say no, new alternatives can be be misplaced, fueling supplies shortages and growing prices.
We’ve already seen how fragile provide chains are when ocean entry is restricted. The Ever Given blockage in 2021 delayed $9.6 billion in items per day when a container ship ran aground and blocked the Suez Canal, and Purple Sea assaults by Houthi forces have pressured expensive rerouting since 2023. Whereas these disruptions resulted from bodily blockages, marine ecosystem collapse may create related dangers at a systemic stage.
SBTN’s targets lay a powerful basis, and increasing engagement past seafood, into transport, logistics and manufacturing will additional strengthen enterprise resilience and ocean well being.
What’s subsequent
Firms within the seafood and aquaculture sector can now start setting their very own ocean-related science-based targets. Early adopters is not going to solely place themselves as sustainability leaders but additionally acquire a head begin in regulatory alignment and provide chain resilience.
However for ocean sustainability to be really efficient, different industries past seafood producers have to be held accountable as nicely. There’s rising recognition that buyers and trade leaders can play a crucial function in increasing targets past fisheries and creating a transparent enterprise case for broader ocean stewardship. The financial dangers of ignoring ocean sustainability — disrupted provide chains, elevated insurance coverage prices for marine transport, lack of biodiversity affecting uncooked materials availability — are too vital to miss.
For extra data, or to precise curiosity in setting seafood science-based targets, go to SBTN’s Ocean Hub web page.