Responsible Seafood Sourcing Gains Momentum in the Philippines
Most of the country’s small-scale fishing sector harvest is sold in the domestic market. With RSS, USAID mobilized the domestic market to help reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and improve the performance of domestic fisheries towards strengthening food security, reducing poverty, and ensuring more sustainable livelihoods in the Philippines.
The costs and processes of international certification for sustainable seafood was out of reach for most Filipino domestic fishers and intermediaries, so USAID developed responsible production standards and processes tailored to Philippine conditions to help the entire seafood supply system advance towards sustainability.
But first, USAID had to prove to the industry players that reliable high-quality domestic supply was feasible. This meant working with partner fishing communities, post-harvest seafood processing experts, and cold-chain technology providers. It was difficult to validly claim that the fish stocks were sustainable without rigorous and costly scientific studies, but USAID verified that fishers, traders, and processors acted responsibly by using licensed and non-destructive fishing methods and complying with traceability, food safety, and other regulations. The Fish Right Program’s established field presence for its habitat conservation efforts, which built on USAID’s long-term investments and social capital, helped empower a network of trustworthy on-ground partners and champions to vet compliant fishers and fish processors.
Responsible seafood sourcing involves good practices in post-harvest processing. Photo credit: USAID Fish Right
After a series of demonstration shipments and discussions, USAID and its private sector and government partners agreed on the RSS Standard, which focuses on the behavior of all actors in the supply chain through the intermediaries, who influence the actions of suppliers (fishers) and clients (retail markets, hotels) alike, while addressing socio-economic and ecosystem conservation issues. The Standard’s criteria include: legal compliance such as fishers’ registration, licensing, and other permits; traceability documentation; sustainability commitment, specifically no trading in endangered, protected, or threatened species; and human and social welfare.
“Through responsible seafood sourcing, businesses can consistently provide quality seafood products while ensuring the health of the marine environment and supporting the livelihoods of local fishing communities,” USAID/Philippines and Mongolia Mission Director Ryan Washburn said.
USAID/Philippines and Mongolia Mission Director Ryan Washburn measures the blue swimming crab with the caliper co-developed by USAID and BFAR to guide fishers in checking the right size crabs. Photo credit: USAID Fish Right
RSS has gained momentum in the Philippines as more and more businesses across the supply chain adopt it, prioritizing responsibly caught seafood and incentivizing fishers to adopt fishing practices that ensure the sustainability of marine resources. Businesses also help influence consumers’ choices towards responsibly sourced seafood.
The first-ever Responsible Seafood Summit organized by USAID in September 2023 proved to be a turning point, with hundreds of representatives from fishing communities and supply chain players participating. RSS technical working groups were established following this event and seafood industry partners take turns in convening regular meetings. USAID hosted fishing communities on study tours of processing facilities and retail markets, where they learned more about food safety and good manufacturing practices as well as the significance of seafood traceability.
USAID Fish Right regularly convenes RSS technical working groups with supply chain partners. Photo credit: USAID Fish Right
“We have been forced to study our supply chains and make improvements in traceability through documentation and have conversations with our suppliers to educate them on the concept. We now have an RSS policy in place to achieve 100 percent traceability and transparency in our supply chain,” said Carina Ong-Tan, general manager of Fishta Seafood, which supplies RSS products to major supermarkets.
More importantly, RSS adoption has expanded livelihood opportunities for fishing communities practicing responsible fishing. For example, seafood company Meliomar now sources octopus from Indigenous Tagbanua fishers who still use traditional fishing practices instead of importing. The Tagbanua fishers of Calawit Island in Busuanga, Palawan, are now even more careful to catch only mature octopuses that meet Meliomar’s RSS requirements—a practice that boosts the stock’s sustainability. “We’re getting a better price for octopus that is RSS-compliant. This means we can get more income even with less catch,” said Fredel Mued, an Indigenous Tagbanua community leader.
The Tagbanua of Calawit Island in Busuanga, Palawan, Philippines—USAID Fish Right’s Indigenous community partner—were featured in a major supermarket’s special event spotlighting their traditionally caught seafood. Photo credit: USAID Fish Right
