An equitable approach to seafood sustainability

Shrimp is enormously popular in the United States — but the way shrimp is farmed can harm the environment. Much of the shrimp Americans eat is raised on small family-run farms in South and Southeast Asia. Seafood Watch has rated most of these shrimp imports as Avoid (red) because of issues like overuse of antibiotics and habitat destruction.

Our global team has found that many farmers want to make improvements to their practices and gain access to the global sustainable seafood market. In some cases, farms are already operating sustainably but lack data to demonstrate it. Until recently, their options to prove their operations are sustainable have been limited. Third-party eco-certifications can be costly, and ratings programs generally function for entire regions rather than individual farms.

To make the process more equitable for these family-based shrimp farmers, Seafood Watch works on the ground with farmer associations, local companies, and other partners. We’re creating a pathway for small farmers to assure buyers of — and potentially improve — their environmental practices through a web-based app, the Improvement Verification Platform.

Seafood Watch team members who live in those countries train partners and farmers to use the app to determine if their farm’s performance is equivalent to a Seafood Watch yellow (Good Alternative) or green (Best Choice) rating. Using a landscape-level approach that samples a representative number of farms, we can confidently verify how all farms in an area are performing.

Our work is making an impact. In close collaboration with our partners in Vietnam, last year we substantially increased the number of small-scale shrimp farms that achieved green ratings — with many more slated to reach green in 2023. And after a successful pilot of the same platform in India last year, we are optimistic about improved practices there as well.

The results are a game changer for these rural communities. Through technical innovation, we’re leveling the playing field for family-run shrimp farmers in regions of Vietnam — and soon in India — to be recognized as sustainable and gain important access to global markets.