Impact Report

Over the past decade, SeaBOS has brought global industry leaders together, united by a shared responsibility to drive systemic change across seafood value chains. SeaBOS continues to evolve as a unique collaboration between science and industry, driving collective action toward ocean stewardship and sustainable seafood production. Since our first Impact Report, we have moved from identifying key impacts of seafood operations on the ocean to measuring, reporting, and reducing them through focused, science-based action. Over the past two years, dedicated Task Forces and Keystone Projects have delivered tangible progress including advancing traceability and human rights due diligence in West Africa, strengthening antimicrobial stewardship in aquaculture, and accelerating efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and reduce ocean plastics. These initiatives have increased transparency, accountability, and collaboration across the SeaBOS membership, but there’s more work to do. As the seafood industry continues to change, so too must SeaBOS. We are now entering a new phase that builds on the trust and scientific foundation of our first decade while sharpening focus on business-led priorities for ocean stewardship. The next chapter of SeaBOS will focus on uniting measurable environmental and social impact with clear value creation for the companies that invest in it. By aligning credible science, corporate leadership, and shared problem solving, SeaBOS can become an even stronger catalyst for responsible growth in the global seafood industry—demonstrating that ocean health and business success are fundamentally linked.

After ten years of SeaBOS, the keystone concept on which it was founded has developed from a niche idea to an acknowledged topic in science. Knowledge co-production and science-industry co-design and collaboration are by many now recognised as key elements for developing long-term, robust solutions for ocean stewardship. This is also my experience having co-developed SeaBOS this past decade: that industry and science together can lead change, but it takes time and requires patience. At this point in time, it is critical that commitment is translated into results to move towards industry transformation. In a world when sustainable development is constantly competing with short term demands, commitment, accountability and leadership are still critically needed. After a structural adjustment this year, we are continuing the SeaBOS journey towards delivering on our commitments, ready to translate cutting edge science into tangible industry results. This report shows that joint progress is indeed possible, but also that we must keep pushing, innovating and collaborating to truly reach our goals.

The past two years have seen SeaBOS move beyond our formative stages of education, awareness, and trust building, to delivering impacts via actions and implementation programs. That shift was most evident through the creation of ‘Keystone Projects’ to create focus on specific ocean stewardship issues and regions, and provide a new mechanism to drive transformative outcomes. Task Force work continued, but greater emphasis was placed on delivering results in the Keystone Projects that could be scaled, or used in other regions. This report highlights the many positive outcomes and learnings gained, alongside challenges, including the departure of some member companies. And it outlines our continued evolution, to remain relevant within the volatile global operating environment we face in the seafood sector.