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DESIGN
Recommendation: 1 It is highly recommended that a second phase be developed to continue efforts to mainstream other dimensions of sustainability (e.g., bycatch reduction, greater importance place on human and indigenous rights) into seafood supply chains, while rebuilding and protecting fish stocks, biodiversity and livelihoods. The subsequent phase must also be anchored to a robust, flexible Theory of Change that includes key assumptions to drive an adaptive management process, all of which are essential for learning by experimenting with context-specific complexities associated with the multisectoral, and multidisciplinary management challenges of the fishery sector. Outcomes must be SMART. It is also imperative that the project incorporate the lessons and good practices (FIPs, Governance Platform and Seafood buyer-seller Roundtable good practices) from Phase 1. All countries should be part of the process, as long as the explicit guidelines and conditions for participation are followed, and new countries should be welcome, provided that a fixed percent co-financing contribution is provided under a government-private partnership arrangement.
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DESIGN
Recommendation 2: Prepare a Concept Note for future sustainable marine commodity supply chains projects, the design team must interdisciplinary, capable of thinking outside the box with different eyes and who understands Management and Action plans, lead the dialogue about how to create a triple bottom-line fisheries project with an integrated environmental, social, gender and human rights focus from the beginning, doing things differently, bringing in innovation through a multidisciplinary focus – a really well thought out one. Up to date information is required, along with gender fishery profiles, gender analyses, among others. Transparency, dynamic dialogue and trust are fundamental ingredients that must be the highest priority for participating countries to instill in their Governance Platforms, carefully screening to include actors from different levels of supply chains who are committed to work in synergy and for positive change.
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IMPLEMENTATION
Recommendation 3: For similar projects, or a future phase 2 of the GMC, it is recommended that the IPCU start operations alongside the beneficiary countries (and not afterwards) within the same start-up period, allowing all the IPs to benefit from the management structures and lessons learned, thus that will undoubtedly also contribute to efficiency and therefore to the expected results. This should not exclude testing new approaches, if they are built on adaptive management principles, solid assumptions and good communication structures with the other participating partners. There should be at least a non-binding expression of financial commitment from the private sector for support.
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IMPLEMENTATION
Recommendation 4: Future FIPs must ensure that participating countries are complying with their commitments to international agreements (e.g., CBD Biological Diversity, UNCLOS , UCHR , Universal Declaration of Human Rights). Those countries should also look to raise the institutional bar to de-politicize outside influence from powerful private sector interests and donor/executing/implementation agencies, while harmonize intersectoral coordination from the highest levels of government similar to the excellent model provided by BAPPENAS and the incipient model re-emerging in Ecuador.
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CROSS-CUTTING EFFECTIVENESS
Recommendation 5: A second phase should also have sufficient funding to cover costs to identify root cause analyses of key elements contributing to the degradation of marine biodiversity and other ecosystem services, ensuring that participating fishing nations health, safety and environmental safeguards, especially for reducing Bycatch (e.g., habitat protection, complying with the CBD specifications and pertinent protocols, IUU bycatch, as well as innovative approaches by Squire et al 20201a, b), and develop context-specific Management Plans, together with their associated Action Plans that are measured by SMART outcome targets. A Phase 2 design must include the FAO’s Fishery Code of Conduct and the Ecosystems Approach to Fisheries, which has shortcomings, but is an adequate starting point for addressing the complexities, uncertainty and unpredictability of the human interactions with ecosystem dynamics. The linear, Agroecosystem approach should remain with the sector where it belongs.
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CROSS-CUTTING EFFECTIVENESS
Recommendation 6: A climate adaptation component should be integrated into the second phase, given the impacts that climate changes will have on fisheries of the future, as it will help avoid missing an opportunity for timely and urgent action, before it becomes problematic. A 3-stepwise approach testing widely used ecosystem-risk assessment methods (see references in) could benefit Phase 2 from its early design to prepare for the impacts of climate change on future fisheries management for climate change.
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CROSS-CUTTING EFFECTIVENESS
Recommendation 7: A second phase should also build upon the Phase 1 success with creating public-private partnership at the national and global levels while participating international NGOs should always contribute, rather than request funds or provide significant in-kind contributions.
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CROSS-CUTTING EFFECTIVENESS
Recommendation 8: A second phase should expand its focus on the social dimensions of sustainable marine commodity supply chains to include results-based indicators that build on the Phase 1 Gender Strategy and mainstream a responsive approach addressing gender equality/equity into an adaptive, learning framework developed in Governance Platforms. It is imperative that the strategy and implementation framework includes realistic budgets that ensure that the actions derived from the Project not only have the responsive gender approach, but it must also start from a deep root cause analysis of the situation of women (gender analysis with primary information) in supported fisheries to ensure that gender-strategic action plans are adapted to context-specific realities, and other key elements
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CROSS-CUTTING EFFECTIVENESS
Recommendation 9: Human and labor rights abuses must be addressed along commodity supply chains – from harvest to the table- during a second phase. SFP seems well-positioned to explore collaboration opportunities with leaders such as the Danish Institute for Human Rights’ (DIHR) work with Pursuing a Human Rights-based Approach to Fisheries and Aquaculture, as should be progressive donors like Swedish International Development Agency who funded their work.
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SUSTAINABILITY
Recommendation 10: Phase 2 should allocate funds and develop an action plan to develop specific solutions to facilitate small-scale fishers to report and verify sustainable practices, including IT development to ensure technological equity and justice. Currently, small-scale fisheries (SSF) cannot afford e-logbooks and the private industrial companies in Ecuador have provided funds for SSF to buy them. However, this is an exception, and the financial gap must be filled to allow SSF to report.
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| 11 |
SUSTAINABILITY
Recommendation 11: A high priority should be placed on advancing the institutionalization of COREMAHI for Eastern Pacific Mahimahi fishing nations, as it offers a viable mechanism for improving the coordinated management of the Mahimahi and associated bycatch. The extent to which the Code of Conduct should be agreed upon by signatory nations should be examined carefully to ensure that it is sufficiently robust for sustainably managing the fishery, including reducing bycatch, yet palatable for countries who might be reluctant to sign.
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