SFP welcomes the publication of a new report on fishery improvement projects by California Environmental Associates. The work was commissioned by The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Walton Family Foundation. The report offers a global snapshot of FIPs around the world and raises some interesting questions about how to best support these projects and maximize success in the future.
SFP is well known for its work on FIPs from nearly a decade ago – first on whitefish, then globally in many seafood sectors. We have set up and run more than 40 FIPs and our model for starting and running FIPs is always evolving. The new CEA report does a good job of stimulating our own internal debates around the best way to encourage and support FIPs and we will be addressing many of the issues it raises in 2016, for instance:
- Not all FIPs are alike, so should our expectations of them be unique (in terms of outcomes, timelines, etc.)?
- What are the incentives for FIPs to succeed? Can the market provide differentiated benefits to FIPs making quicker or more meaningful progress? Can FIPs provide benefits to fishers and local communities?
- What will it take to help FIPs in developing countries be effective? We see how important policy development, capacity building, and community engagement are but who can best organize all these stakeholders?
- What kind of tools do we need to increase transparency and accountability in FIPs and make the process work more smoothly?
What are your takeaways from this analysis? Please send us your thoughts.