Continued progress towards healthier oceans

The Phuket Dialogue was the fourth keystone Dialogue. This Stockholm Resilience Centre event was funded by the Walton Family Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Inaugural Chair of SeaBOS, Shigeru Ito from Maruha Nichiro Corporation, described the fourth meeting, which took place in Phuket, Thailand, as increasing evidence of the benefits of collaboration between science and industry. Among the key outcomes, SeaBOS established a new task force on Climate Resilience, to address the key impacts of climate change on the seafood industry. The ten SeaBOS members also agreed to connect with invited experts to advance actions on reducing IUU fishing, eliminating forced labour, enhancing seafood traceability, and reducing antibiotics. Members identified the importance of urgently improving regulations associated with sustainable fisheries and aquaculture management, ocean pollution (including plastics) and climate change. A recently completed proof of concept study of traceability, organised and conducted by SeaBOS, illustrated important insights about how novel technologies can improve information flow in complex supply chains, and thereby reduce the risks associated with IUU fishing and labour abuse. The companies are now investigating how to take this to scale.

“The initiative is designed to provide lasting change towards ensuring sustainable seafood production, as well as a healthy ocean. With our global population rising rapidly, the need to increase sustainable production of protein from our ocean becomes even more critical. This dialogue extended our efforts to address that challenge, and the benefits of having closer links between science and industry are becoming increasingly evident”

– Shigeru Ito, Inaugural Chair of SeaBOS

Background Briefs

Hosts

The dialogue meeting was jointly hosted by Charoen Pokphand Foods and Thai Union Corporation.

SeaBOS Company representatives

The keystone actors at the Phuket Dialogue were represented by Mr Shigeru Ito (President and CEO, Maruha Nichiro Corporation), Mr Masaru Ikemi (Director, Managing Executive Officer, Maruha Nichiro Corporation), Mr Osamu Momiyama (Director, Managing Executive Officer, Maruha Nichiro Corporation), Mr Yasuhiro Hasegawa (General Acting Manager of Corporate Planning Department, Maruha Nichiro Corporation), Mr Hiroyuki Sato (Deputy Manager, Sustainability Promotion Group, Corporate Planning Department, Maruha Nichiro Corporation), Ms Maiko Nakagawa (Assistant Chief, Sustainability Promotion Group, Corporate Planning Department, Maruha Nichiro Corporation), David Carter (CEO Austral Fisheries, subsidiary of Maruha Nichiro Corporation). Mr Akiyo Matono (President & CEO, Nippon Suisan Kaisha Ltd), Mr Toshiya Yabuki (General Manager, Nippon Suisan Kaisha). Mr Makoto Inoue (President, Kyokuyo Co. Ltd), Mr Kiyoshi Hattori (Chief of Division of CSR, Kyokuyo Ltd). Mr Alf-Helge Aarskog (CEO, Mowi ASA), Dr Catarina Martins (Chief Sustainability Officer (Mowi ASA), Mr Thiraphong Chansiri (President and CEO, Thai Union), Dr Darian McBain (Global Director of Sustainability, Thai Union), Mr Myoung Woo Lee (CEO Dongwon Industries), Mr Jae Hwa Lee (Assistant Manager, Strategy Management Team, Dongwon Industries), Jun Young Kim (Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning, Dongwon Industries), José Villalon (Corporate Sustainability Director, Nutreco), Mr Dave Robb (Sustainability Manager, Cargill Aqua Nutrition), Mr Geir Molvik (CEO Cermaq, representative of Mitsubishi Corporation), Ms Wenche Grønbrekk (Head of Sustainability and Risk, Cermaq, representative of Mitsubishi Corporation), Mr Sujint Thammasart (Chief Operating Officer – Aquaculture Business, Charoen Pokphand Foods Company Limited), Mr Pitipong Dejjarukul (Vice President, Feed Raw Materials Office, Aqua-business, Charoen Pokphand Foods Company Limited). Vorapong Iamtrakul (PMP, General Manager for Sustainable Standard for Feed Raw Material Office at Chareon Pokphand Foods Company Limited).

Other Company representatives

Akihiko Soga (General Manager of Marine Products Department, Mitsubishi Corporation).

Organizers

The Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC) team consisted of Professor Carl Folke (Science Director), Professor Henrik Österblom (Deputy Science Director), Dr. Jan Bebbington (Professor of Accounting and Sustainable Development at Birmingham Business School, visiting researcher Stockholm Resilience Centre.