1. Designing sustainable fisheries
Jack Whalen
Aalto University, Department of Design
&
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership

2. • The problem: The state of the ocean’s
ecosystems
• The design space – Fishery?
Sustainable? – and the key issues
• Fisheries and their stakeholders –
and supply chains
• The battle over sustainability –
strategy and tactics
• Designing sustainable fisheries

3. THE STATE OF THE OCEAN’S ECOSYSTEMS

4. The world’s oceans
• The overall state of fishery stocks is worse than previously known
• Developed countries are slowly and unevenly stabilizing and
rebuilding fisheries
• Middle income countries have more mixed trends, with large
industrial fisheries often better managed than smaller or coastal
stocks
• Developing country fisheries appear to be seriously overexploited
• Open ocean stocks managed by UN-authorized Regional Fisheries
Management Organisations (RFMOs) are in a precarious situation
• The habitat and wildlife effects of fisheries are disastrous across
almost all geographies
(Charting a Course to Sustainable Fisheries, California Environmental Associates, 2012)

5. The world’s oceans
Overfishing has impoverished
the integrity of the ocean’s
ecosystems to a greater degree
than previously acknowledged.

6. The world’s oceans
But…

7. The world’s oceans
What is to be done?
Can we design a sustainable
system for fisheries?
But: What is the ‘system’?
And: What would a successful
system design require?

8. THE DESIGN SPACE
(AND THE SCIENCE WE NEED
TO UNDERSTAND AND WORK IN IT)

9. The design space
• Fishery
– A geographic location and the fish species captured there
– Combines industrial and scientific ways of understanding
(a place for fishing + the particular fish stock that lives there)
Note: By ‘fish’ I mean here not only finfish but also crustaceans and molluscs, whether they dwell in the ocean or freshwater (or both)

10. The design space
• Fishery
– A geographic location and the fish species captured there
– Combines industrial and scientific ways of understanding
(a place for fishing + the particular fish stock that lives there)
• Su
Eastern Baltic cod
fishery
Gadus morhua

11. The design space
• Fishery
– A geographic location and the fish species captured there
– Combines industrial and scientific ways of understanding
(a place for fishing + the particular fish stock that lives there)
Peruvian anchoveta
fishery
Engraulis ringens
This is the single most important fishery in the
world, accounting for 5 to 6 million tonnes of
landings annually. The anchovy is also the key piece
within the Southeastern Pacific ecosystem.

12. The design space
• Fishery
– A geographic location and the fish species captured there
– Combines industrial and scientific ways of understanding
(a place for fishing + the particular fish stock that lives there)
The scale (artisanal  industrial) and
method of capture matter a great deal

13. The design space
• Fishery
– A geographic location and the fish species captured there
– Combines industrial and scientific ways of understanding
(a place for fishing + the particular fish stock that lives there)
But what about the ecosystem
(not just that particular fish stock)?

14. The design space
Ecosystem: a dynamic
interaction between the
living resources and
physical parts of a given
environment
Trophic(plants) at
levels:
level 1, to
The marine biomass pyramid
Trophic level 5
Trophic level 4
Trophic level 3
Trophic level 2
Trophic level 1
herbivores
(level 2),
to
predators
(level 3),
to
carnivores
or top
carnivores
(level 4 or
5)

15. The design space
Ecosystem: a dynamic
interaction between the
living resources and
physical parts of a given
environment
Trophic(plants) at
levels:
level 1, to
The marine biomass pyramid
Trophic level 5
Trophic level 4
Trophic level 3
Trophic level 2
Trophic level 1
herbivores
(level 2),
to
predators
(level 3),
to
carnivores
or top
carnivores
(level 4 or
5)
physical = soil, water, air
• Climate change and ocean acidification
• Fishing methods and habitat impact
(especially in the benthic zone – the ecological region at lowest level
of a body of water)

16. The design space
• Sustainable/responsible fishing
– Fishing practices and management that ensure fish stocks
and marine eco-systems are maintained and protected for
future generations

17. The design space
Key issues in sustainable fishing
• Overfishing - Too many fishing boats
• Overfished stock - Too few fish left to reproduce effectively
• Marine habitat - the ocean ecosystem (sharks, seaweed, turtles,
dolphins, seagulls, coral, …)
• Fisheries management - the system that says who is allowed to fish,
where they are can fish and the methods they can use, and how
much they can catch
• Bycatch/discards - when fishermen throw fish overboard (usually
dead)
• Illegal fishing (e.g., fish caught by unlicensed boats)
• Traceability (Where did the fish come from?)

18. The design space
• Designing industrial ‘systems’ …

19. FISHERIES AND THEIR STAKEHOLDERS
– AND SUPPLY CHAINS

20. Fisheries and their stakeholders
• Stakeholders
– Catchers (and their communities and/or employers)
– Processors
– Buyers (large retailers, like Wal-Mart in the States or
Kesko in Finland)
– Government (or intergovernmental) agencies who
manage the fishery
– Consumers/citizens
• The organisation of the supply chain

21. Fishery supply chains
‘From bait to plate’
Catchers

22. Fishery supply chains
‘From bait to plate’
Processors

23. Fishery supply chains
‘From bait to plate’
Suppliers

24. Fishery supply chains
‘From bait to plate’
Buyers/retailers

25. Fishery supply chains
‘From bait to plate’
Consumers

26. Fishery supply chains
‘From bait to plate’
Consumers
Buyers/retailers
Suppliers
Processors
Catchers
≈ 400 billion €
per year value

27. Indonesian tuna
supply chain

28. THE BATTLE OVER SUSTAINABILITY

29. Sustainability and its challenges
• Achieving sustainable fishing practices is hardly a
straightforward task!
• There are significant challenges that ultimately
inhibit their realisation, especially in making the
transition to sustainability
• Reducing catches and introducing new fishing practices
to allow fish stock to recover are often necessary
• But this generally means hardship for some
stakeholders, albeit temporary
(higher value placed on short-term benefits; benefits not evenly distributed
amongst stakeholders; data gathering for adequate management difficult to
achieve)

30. The battle over sustainability
• Scientists and NGOs vs industry (whether large
industrial fleets or small scale and artisanal
catchers) and governments
• Strategies and tactics in the battle
– Scientific analysing and reporting, advising regulators

31. Scientific analysing and reporting
Consumers
Buyers/retailers
NGOs
Suppliers
Scientists
Processors
Catchers
Regulators

32. Scientific analysing and reporting
Consumers
Buyers/retailers
NGOs
Suppliers
Scientists
Processors
Catchers
Regulators
At the end of the day, it’s all about change on the water

33. The battle over sustainability
• Scientists and NGOs vs industry (whether large
industrial fleets or small scale and artisanal
catchers) and governments
• Strategies and tactics in the battle
– Scientific analysing and reporting, advising regulators
– Blame and shame campaigns + political lobbying

35. Blame and shame campaigns
and political lobbying
Consumers
Buyers/retailers
NGOs
Suppliers
Processors
Catchers
Regulators

36. The battle over sustainability
• Scientists and NGOs vs industry (whether large
industrial fleets or small scale and artisanal
catchers) and governments
• Strategies and tactics in the battle
– Scientific analysing and reporting, advising regulators
– Blame and shame campaigns + political lobbying
– Consumer education

38. Consumer education
Consumers
Buyers/retailers
Suppliers
Processors
Catchers
NGOs

39. The battle over sustainability
• Scientists and NGOs vs industry (whether large
industrial fleets or small scale and artisanal
catchers) and governments
• Strategies and tactics in the battle
– Scientific analysing and reporting, advising regulators
– Blame and shame campaigns + political lobbying
– Consumer education
– Community development/assistance

40. Community development/assistance
Consumers
Buyers/retailers
Suppliers
Processors
Catchers
(Fishing communities)
NGOs

41. DESIGNING SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES

42. Fishery improvement:
Can you design a sustainable fishery?
In order to develop strategies for averting a
fisheries collapse and restoring sustainability,
it is first necessary to understand the unique
set of forces operating in any given fishery.

43. Fishery improvement:
Can you design a sustainable fishery?
• It is better to work together with the
industry (from retailers to catchers) to
improve a fishery than to stop buying or
selling its fish
• There are many ways to improve fisheries
– Healthy fish stocks
– Protection of habitats and marine life
– Effective management of fishing activities
– ...

44. Fishery improvement:
Can you design a sustainable fishery?
But how can you get stakeholders to take risks
and overcome their short-term mentality?
How can you get regulators to follow scientific advice?
Note that in many parts of the world, there
are no regulatory bodies to manage fisheries,
and no possibility of legal remedies to
harmful, unsustainable fishing practices.

45. Fishery improvement:
Can you design a sustainable fishery?
Design concept: A partnership between scientists,
the fishing/seafood industry, and NGOs to co-design
improvement plans, use supply chain leverage to
put them into action, monitor the results, make
adjustments as needed …

46. A relatively new concept …
• Scientists and NGOs vs industry (whether large
industrial fleets or small scale and artisanal
catchers) and governments
• Strategies and tactics in the battle
– Scientific analysing and reporting, advising regulators
– Blame and shame campaigns + political lobbying
– Consumer education
– Community development/assistance
– Market transformation

47. Market transformation
Consumers
Buyers/retailers
Suppliers
NGOs
Fishery improvement projects (FIPs)
Processors
Catchers
Regulators

48. Fishery improvement:
Can you design a sustainable fishery?
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+
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+
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how+ do+
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teaching+
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Fishery
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project
methodology

49. Fishery improvement:
Can you design a sustainable fishery?
Science
+
Economic incentives
+
Fishing regulations

50. It is highly unlikely that the market transformation
strategy can succeed on its own. We are dealing with
a system that is deeply political – at stake are huge
revenues, national economies, and the livelihoods of
many people (and their communities). All these
strategies and tactics will be needed!
• Strategies and tactics in the battle
– Scientific analysing and reporting, advising regulators
– Blame and shame campaigns + political lobbying
– Consumer education
– Community development/assistance
– Market transformation

51. Thank you