From bridges to better seafood: investing in coastal communities

Rarely realizing any direct benefits from sustainable seafood production, small-scale producers have little incentive to fish or farm in environmentally responsible ways. Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Community Development Fund aims to flip this notion by financing projects aimed at increasing the general quality of life in small-scale fishing and farming communities with the hope that these benefits will incentivize environmentally sustainable practices.

To protect ocean health while meeting the growing global demand for seafood, Monterey Bay Aquarium focuses on improving the sustainability of fisheries and aquaculture around the world. Our Seafood Watch program assesses the environmental impacts of species that are important to the U.S. market and assigns green, yellow, and red ratings to highlight areas of environmental risk. Our global ocean conservation team—which includes more than 25 fellows working in countries across the globe—then works collaboratively with businesses, producers, governments, in-country partners, and local communities to tackle intertwined environmental, social, and economic challenges and improve the sustainability of important red-rated seafood products.

One of the countries we work in is Vietnam—a top exporter of shrimp and prawns to the U.S. For thousands of communities throughout Vietnam, small-scale shrimp farming is the primary source of income. These farmers are vulnerable to poverty, climate change impacts, economic shocks, and debt cycles. Often rated red by Seafood Watch, these small-scale farms also face major barriers to accessing lucrative global seafood supply chains. As they work each day to overcome these challenges, they have little incentive to use environmentally sustainable farming practices.

We launched the Community Development Fund to create that incentive. Working with seafood businesses in the region, the Aquarium raises funds to support projects that improve the general quality of life for small seafood producing communities. The community decides how to spend the funds, using community input and decisions to select a project that is most likely to improve the quality of life of local residents. This opens the door for the Aquarium’s global conservation team to work with the farmers and fishers to adopt more environmentally sustainable fishing and farming practices.

“Consumers are increasingly demanding seafood products that are fished or farmed in environmentally sustainable ways. Our business partners understand that meeting that demand requires access to environmentally sustainable goods,” said Wendy Norden, director of the Aquarium’s global program. “By participating in the Community Development Fund, businesses increase equitable access to the global supply chain, strengthen communities, and ensure more environmentally sustainable fishing and farming practices that result in better product.”

Tam Giang Dong Commune is a village of approximately 800 people in Vietnam’s Cà Mau Province, where small-scale shrimp farming is the primary source of income. Every day, residents of Tam Giang Dong Commune must cross the Kenh Tac Ong Thay bridge to get to work, attend school, access the hospital, and visit the community center to see friends and exchange goods. This 20-year-old bridge is deteriorating from years of heavy traffic and is dangerous for the community to use. During the rainy season, flooding makes the bridge impassable. Local partners, Cà Mau Former Oversea Student Network and the People's Committee of Tam Giang Dong Commune, worked with community members to identify a new bridge as a priority need for the community and helped them submit a proposal to the Aquarium for funding.

Funds for the bridge came from Min Phu, Bon Appetit Management Company, Seafresh, and CASES—seafood businesses that were already working with the Aquarium to improve access to environmentally sustainable shrimp throughout Vietnam. Local contractors—selected by the community—started work on the new bridge in early August and are expected to finish the project this fall. The Fund is managed by Monterey Bay Aquarium but is wholly independent of Seafood Watch assessments. All the money collected for the Community Development Fund goes to community improvement projects. The Aquarium covers staffing and other administrative costs through its own budget.

Promoting long-term job security, improved health and safety conditions, and a better quality of life for local communities, the Community Development Fund seeks to improve the environment while making both communities and the industry itself more sustainable. As a result, the entire system works better for everyone.

“This whole approach is based on the belief that improving the quality of life in small-scale fishing and farming communities will translate into improved, more environmentally sustainable fishing and farming practices,” said Norden. “This model has the potential to be a real game-changer by creating a truly sustainable supply chain that benefits all the players—including the fishers and farmers, the surrounding community, industry, and, ultimately, seafood consumers.”

Hoping to see stakeholders across the supply chain adopt this approach, the Aquarium has plans to introduce additional projects in India, Indonesia, and Bangladesh.

Businesses interested in participating in the Community Development Fund can contact cdfund@mbayaq.org to learn more.