PANEL: Wednesday, April 22, 2:45-3:30 p.m., Room CC5.1 at Seafood Expo Global 2026 in Barcelona
Seafood companies – from first buyers and processors to brands and retailers – are increasingly expected to demonstrate product origin, traceability, and credible evidence of responsible production, including environmental performance and human welfare. Yet many companies still do not know which products in their portfolios come from small-scale fisheries – or whether those fisheries have the science, rules, and enforcement needed to meet rising due‑diligence expectations.
At the same time, many small-scale fisheries operate in contexts where government management capacity is constrained. In these settings, sustainability and risk reduction cannot be achieved through supply‑chain leverage alone. Progress requires empowering fishers and coastal communities to participate in management and to become long-term stewards of the ecosystems that underpin seafood supply – while aligning market incentives so responsible practices are rewarded.
Over the past 20 years, improvement efforts have generated important successes, but they have not reached the scale or durability required. A step change is needed: practical, collaborative models in which industry leaders support (not replace) public management by co-investing in the “public goods” that make responsible fisheries possible – data and monitoring systems, co-management platforms, transparency, and services that enable compliance and quality.
This panel brings together leaders from retail, processing, and on-the-ground supply chain actors to show what “industry leadership” looks like in practice. A retailer will share how their approach goes beyond certification by collecting fishery‑level information and using it to strengthen responsible sourcing decisions and outcomes for people and the planet. A vertically integrated supplier will present how it is applying new FishSource small-scale fishery indicators (including secure tenure rights and participatory management) in different geographies to assess the small‑scale fisheries it sources from and to target practical support that enables improvement. Supply chain actors will share how collaboration between industry and small‑scale fisher organizations supported the co‑development of management regulations. Participants will leave with concrete takeaways on what data to ask for, how to use it, how to structure partnerships, and how to convert procurement and co‑investment into measurable improvements for ecosystems, communities, and supply continuity.
Panelists will include:
- Pedro Ferreiro, Fisheries Governance and Livelihoods Director, SFP (Moderator)
- Alejandro Castro, Sustainability Manager, Profand Group
- Dave Parker, Head of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Sainsbury’s Supermarkets
- George Pinto, President, ASOAMAN