Utrecht, The Netherlands — The future of the global shrimp industry is all about transparency, sustainability and collaboration in the supply chain and faster action will be needed. That is the helicopter view of the ASC team at the Global Shrimp Forum (GSF) in Utrecht last week.
As a founding partner of the event, ASC had a strong team of subject experts in Utrecht mixing with more than 500 delegates from 40 countries who attended the annual leadership event for the global shrimp industry.
Experts from ASC presented key topics that will drive environmental and social transformation in the global shrimp sector including climate change, human rights, feed, inclusivity in the supply chain and the Improver Programme by ASC.
ASC CEO and GSF Chair, Chris Ninnes said, “We are grateful for the continued support and commitment of the shrimp industry towards the improvement of the sector. Shrimp is a key species farmed globally. However, as a highly traded commodity produced in many countries, the sector remains fragmented. Only through collaboration and shared efforts of the entire supply chain can we truly achieve meaningful change.
“There is a need to convene the leadership of the industry and our commitment to this event reflects our dedication to drive positive transformation in shrimp farming.
“This event always generates high quality discussion and provides impetus and valuable learning for all parts of the value chain, including ASC.”
Perfect Pitches
Day 1 kicked off with an interactive session focused on inclusive supply chains and continuous improvement, exploring how the shrimp industry could evolve to improve production, livelihoods and the environment.
The audience heard sharp five-minute business pitches for improvement projects from ASC partners including Paul Bulcock from the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, Indonesian non-profit organisation Kaleka and Heiko Lenk, founder of Luna Seafoods, who spoke about his involvement with the Improver Programme by ASC and how it is benefiting both farmers and their communities in Bangladesh.
The session concluded with thoughtful closing remarks from Roy van Daatselaar, Global Lead of the Improver Programme by ASC and Cormac O’Sullivan from Monterey Bay Aquarium.
ASC Feed Standard “Provides Social License to Operate”
On Day 2 of the forum, Aisla Jones, ASC Market Development Manager UK & Ireland moderated a panel event about the ASC Feed Standard. Panelists Frédérique Glazener, Sustainability Manager at Albert Heijn, Jorge Díaz, Sustainability Director at Skretting and Henrik Aarestrup, Vice President LatAm, Shrimp & Hatchery at BioMar discussed the value and challenges associated with achieving the standard.
Jorge Díaz said that being early adopters of the ASC Feed Standard was not only the right thing to do, but provides a social license to operate, whilst Henrik Aarestrup believes that the ASC Feed Standard is moving the industry forward and that’s BioMar is supporting it.
The cost of certification was discussed and Frédérique Glazener, Sustainability Manager at Albert Heijn commented that the ASC Feed Standard is raising standards but also cost, but she asked the audience to consider the cost of doing nothing. There was consensus that the cost should be shared throughout the value chain.
Feed was a key topic in many sessions, with Blake Stok of Thai Union saying that the ASC Feed Standard is one of the most comprehensive solutions to tackle the challenges in shrimp feed. Building on this point, Aisla Jones said, “A closer interaction between feed and shrimp farming is key for the sector’s future. This is the interface for making farming more efficient and in delivering a healthy, nutritious and climate friendly product. Responsible shrimp is about adding value, not cost. We can all gain by investing in supply chains and the people in them.”
Climate Change – No Free Ride for the Shrimp Sector
One of the key topics featured during GSF 2024 was climate change and the carbon footprint of shrimp, which was discussed during the Climate Summit.
Following the discussion, Esther Luiten, ASC Programme Development Director said, “To benefit from decarbonisation in the market positioning of shrimp, the sector needs to take action – there is no free ride – and the sector needs more and verified data about the emissions of greenhouse gas emissions and public reporting of these.”
Rob Parker, ASC Senior Project Coordinator GHG Emissions – climate change added, “I believe that the industry will move on messaging around climate change much faster than science will, and organisations such as ASC will be needed to provide some ‘sober second thought’ to the claims being made. The narrative is there but needs to be grounded in transparent science.”
Human Rights Due Diligence – a Matter of Dialogue and Collaboration
On the final day of the conference, one of the side sessions delved a little deeper into human rights due diligence. In this session Froukje Kruijssen, ASC Human Rights Programme Manager provided an overview of Human Rights Due Diligence.
This is a complex issue that increasingly features in legislation of importing countries and that companies in the shrimp sector will therefore need to face. Experts from the seafood and garments and textiles industry shared their experiences in addressing these issues, such as through pre-competitive collaborations. Panellist Dominique Gaultier, Sustainability Director at Seafresh Group ended the session by emphasising that social impacts are not only about mitigating human rights risks but also about generating benefits to workers and communities.
Froukje said, “It is clear that addressing human rights issues in the shrimp sector will require collaboration in the supply chain, as well as with NGOs, certification, trade unions and governments. It will oblige that we all acknowledge that these issues exist in the shrimp sector, like they do in any other supply chain. Avoiding the subject, or pointing fingers, will not make issues go away, and it will take dialogue and collaboration to address them together.”
Collaboration is Key
Barbara Janker, ASC Commercial Director APAC concluded, “Sustainability issues need collaboration but overcoming the current difficult market situation will also require collaborative effort to make shrimp farming more efficient and to create and share a positive narrative about shrimp to increase global consumption.”
Esther Luiten, ASC Global Director of Programme Development and GSF board member said, “This year’s GSF was another great success and we are already looking forward to building the learning and continuing the conversations next year!”
Curious to see the highlights at GSF? Take a look at this 60-second video of the forum!
