The 2021 Landscape Review of Sustainable Seafood Precompetitive Collaborations builds on the 2018 Seafood Metrics Report Supplement on Industry Engagement Platforms by surveying 16 precompetitive platforms in the sustainable seafood movement. By capturing information from public websites and key informant interviews with platform leaders, this report aims to elevate the seafood market community’s understanding of the precompetitive collaboration landscape.
For the context of this report, a precompetitive collaboration involves industry competitors working together to share best practices within or across seafood commodities, collaborating on shared challenges, and taking collective action to drive change in seafood sustainability.
The report, authored by CEA Consulting and commissioned by the Sustainable Seafood Funders’ Group, a joint initiative of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the Walton Family Foundation, seeks to highlight key data insights, emergent trends, and best practices of the evolving precompetitive collaboration landscape.

Key findings include:

• Four types of platform archetypes (knowledge-sharing entities, commitment-oriented platforms, scientific research bodies, and project funders) have emerged and reflect differing priorities, types of members, levels of supply chain engagement, and monitoring and reporting activities.
• Almost 400 companies are engaged in 16 precompetitive collaborations, up from about 250 engaged in 12 platforms in 2018. 28% of companies participate in more than one platform.
• 15% of companies participating in precompetitive collaborations also have 1-on-1 partnerships with Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions NGOs. 40% of companies with 1-on-1 NGO partnerships also participate in precompetitive collaborations.
• 80% of platforms are structured around some type of time-bound or open-ended commitment for members to work toward, and almost all platforms collectively engage in government advocacy.
• Platforms have several different funding models, the most common of which is receiving both philanthropic and industry financial support. Over 60% of platforms receive some amount of philanthropic financial support,

If you have any questions or feedback about the report, please contact Sydney Sanders of CEA Consulting at sydney@ceaconsulting.com.

Recently, the Alliance was invited by SeafoodSource to present at its Seafood 2030 Virtual Sustainability Forum. We were joined at the event by select Alliance Board members and partners to talk about our collective mission to transform seafood supply chains. 
During the session we discussed the exciting turning-point we are at in the history of the Alliance: after 12 years of hard work, we have helped advance the sustainable seafood movement such that we are now on the cusp of having a critical mass of companies in the US and EU adopting more sustainable and responsible practices, ultimately making it the norm for doing business. 
For example, we know that by value, about 80% of the top 25 US retailers are partnered with Alliance Global Hub members and have made sustainable seafood commitments, along with 80% of the top 9 Canadian retailers, and 70% of the top 10 EU retailers. Plus, there are over 140 FIPs (fishery improvement projects), around the world today, representing 9% of the global catch, while more than 150 seafood companies are engaged in pre-competitive platforms.
Our ambitions, however, are greater than our achievements. 
We have more work to do. Our 10-year target is that by 2030, at least 75% of global production is environmentally sustainable or making verifiable improvement and safeguards are in place to ensure social responsibility. Last year we launched a new strategy and community model to help make it happen. 
Since we know the movement has been through a rapid expansion of groups and tools, our strategy has us fostering alignment in priority work areas, amplifying critical work and resources from the Global Hub, and measuring our shared progress along the way to create clarity and focus in the movement. To support these efforts, we are evolving to become a more inclusive, global, cross-sector community, so that in the Global Hub, we can engage with the full spectrum of stakeholders critical to this movement. 
What does participating in the Global Hub look like? Rob Johnson is Managing Director of Sea Pact (an NGO formed by a group of seafood companies), a member of our newly minted Alliance Advisory Council, and long-time member of our community. As he puts it, “the scope and urgency of the issues requires collaboration to get the durability needed to transform the industry and bring it to a more viable and sustainable place. [The Global Hub is] a dynamic space that is changing and effectively building the awareness and capacity needed for transformational change.”
During the session, John V. Young, Vice President of Operations at Euclid Fish Company, echoed Rob’s sentiments, sharing, “the heaving lifting needs to be done together. The Global Hub helps me understand and wade through fisheries management changes and other updates…so we can use that information to educate our consumers.”
Today we are excited to share that the recording of that event is now available for those who were unable to make it live and would like to catch up. 
These days, our team is busily preparing for our own virtual event: the Alliance Annual Meeting, coming up November 15-18. This event convenes leaders and international experts from across the sustainable seafood movement in a series of dynamic sessions and workshops. Last year we hosted 20+ hours of content for 400+ attendees from throughout the responsible seafood industry, including NGOs, seafood companies, academia, and human rights and other experts.
To get involved in the conversation or learn more about what we do here at the Alliance, we invite you to join us at our Virtual Annual Meeting by clicking here. And, for more information about joining the Global Hub, click here.

​Recently, the Alliance was invited by SeafoodSource to present at its Seafood 2030 Virtual Sustainability Forum. We were joined at the event by select Alliance Board members and partners to talk about our collective mission to transform seafood supply chains. 

Special thanks to our speakers:
Cecilia Blasco
Indrani Lutchman
Rob Johnson
John V Young
Steve Waddell
Jack Kittinger

Catch up here!

https://solutionsforseafood.org/news/collaboration-is-our-path-forward/