Seafood supply chains are extremely complex and achieving positive environmental performance requires addressing the socio-economic challenges that producing communities (and countries) face, which create the very same conditions we are trying to address through improvement efforts. In the absence of global markets demanding sustainable seafood products and incentives for improvements, the tourism sector plays a critical role in catalyzing change in seafood production efforts for domestic markets. Improving efficiencies within the supply chain, leads to better quality products with better yield and potentially, better price, as the number of intermediaries involved in the supply chain are reduced. The tourism sector can also provide a platform for educating clients about responsible seafood consumption in these markets.
The challenge for the tourism sector and hotels like Iberostar is how to achieve their responsible seafood commitments while sourcing more than a handful of species that are certified and imported in the countries where they operate. Strategic work to develop partnerships that can support work in-country is needed as well as leveraging existing initiatives to avoid duplicative efforts while creating new pathways for improvement that support their sourcing commitments.
For example, Iberostar’s “Lifting Up Local” program has evolved to address this challenge through a more holistic approach to sustainability, so that they can support strategies that go beyond SDG 14. Supporting local producers and sourcing directly from them increases their income and economic growth as they do not have to sell to intermediaries at lower prices (SDG 1 & 8), thus alleviating poverty and ensuring food access of a nutrient-dense protein (SDG 2). Also, working with local communities helps provide capacity and training towards more sustainable production and consumption of seafood (SDG 12), and increase visibility of women’s existing participation in these fisheries as well as provide leadership training (SDG 5).
“Aliança Kirimurȇ,” a group of fishers and shellfish gatherers in Brazil, started as project by Humana Brasil that worked with 1,250 families of shellfish gatherers and fishermen in 30 communities located throughout nine coastal cities in the Baía Todos os Santos region, about 1,223 square kilometers, making it the largest Bay in Brazil. Aliança Kirimurȇ’s main objective is to organize and strengthen a network of producers, community leaders and fishing entities to act in synergy within the regional fishing production chain and contribute to improving quality in the production process. Fishers face obstacles such as limited storage capacity, high costs of land transport, and reduced returns from the sale of their products as they work with intermediaries who have high profit margins. By working directly with restaurants like Restaurante Origem in Salvador and Iberostar Hotels in Praia do Forte, producers can focus on improving the handling and quality for their products and are able to receive a better price by not having to work through intermediaries.
This network directly benefits 200 families of shellfish gatherers, artisanal fishers and community aquaculture operations. It contributes to the social, human, and environmental development of the community-based fishing organizations involved. Furthermore, it promotes the sustainable use of products and services of the estuarine marine socio-biodiversity of the Baía Todos os Santos. There are a total of 15 groups that work with artisanal fish processing, marine crafts, oyster and seaweed farming, in addition to sustainable fishing activities. All group activities are organized in stages and modules that include actions to improve organization, management, production and commercialization.
Women make up 75% of the “Aliança Kirimurȇ.” As part of the program, focus has been placed on building their capacity and leadership as well as promoting development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation that leads to alternative means of livelihood through handcrafted products (i.e., Art’s Guerreiras, SDG10).
Aliança Kirimurȇ seeks to empower and value the importance of women within the artisanal fishing production chain throughout its organization and operation, including actions that seek to meet the needs of this group as women fishers and Afro-descendants (SDG 5). By working with others in the sector, we can continue to encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, and work towards improving access to financial services (i.e. microloans for women to expand oyster farming).
Working in fisheries improvements also requires developing the domestic market and support from other buyers to create the demand for more responsible seafood. Iberostar, as a leader in responsible tourism, is well positioned to bring the hospitality sector together and work towards identifying opportunities for pre competitive collaboration. In addition, investing in processing facilities and creating the logistics and distribution channels for these products is necessary, in order to maintain product traceability and engage fisheries and farms in best practices (SDG 14) so that they can continue accessing these markets. Government buy-in on these initiatives can also be challenging as they may not necessarily have the capacity to enforce specific regulations or activities which fall under their jurisdiction (SDG 16). The hospitality sector can effectively come together and leverage their relationships with government entities to seek support for these projects.
These shellfish gatherers and fisherwomen play crucial roles throughout the productive chain of artisanal fishing and though they have been carrying out leadership functions and occupying spaces of power and decision-making that traditionally belonged to men, their leading role continues to be strongly discriminated against and made invisible. They are responsible for making nets, capturing shellfish, mollusks, and fish, and processing and commercializing these products. However, they continue to be considered in many spaces as helpers, even though they contribute significantly to family income and financial management.
Equally important is the role that markets play in valuing the responsible production of these products and working with these communities to help build the infrastructure needed for processing and delivering of final products. End buyers like Iberostar, and others in the hospitality/tourism sector, could harness their purchasing power and work together and support improvement initiatives within these communities and develop local sourcing programs. These programs can improve quality and freshness of seafood products while enhancing their clients’ gastronomic offerings and experience.
Adriana is the Responsible Seafood Strategy Director for Iberostar Hotels’ Wave of Change. In this role, she developed their Responsible Seafood Commitment and strategy to
achieve 100% responsible seafood consumption in all Iberostar hotels by 2025. She works closely with Iberostar’s purchasing team and their vendors to collect and improve global sourcing.
Pictured (Left to right): Julieta Ruiz, Adriana Sanchez, Cintia Miyaji at Paiche, and amazing Chef Juan Leon