The NFI Red Crab Council and its sustainability partners, Ocean Outcomes (O2), are entering year five of the comprehensive Red Crab Fisheries Improvement Project (FIP) in China.
Given the continued progress of the FIP and its ongoing efforts to improve the sustainability of 40,000 tonnes of trawl- and pot-caught crab from the Minnan-Taiwan Bank, the FIP was recently awarded an A rating on FisheryProgress.org for producing tangible outcomes.
‘I have called this effort The Little FIP That Could for many years now,’ said Newport International President Anjan Tharakan, the NFI Red Crab Council Chair.
‘Year after year O2, their partners QMCS in China, and our member companies find a way to keep it moving in the right direction. I am as proud of the work done on the ground as I am that commitment. The operating climate has not been easy.’
This year, those involved in the FIP will conduct dockside catch monitoring, scientific analysis of catch samples, report catch-related data and convene local stakeholders to advance sustainability initiatives in the fishery, including assessing and identifying processes for addressing social risk.
‘This FIP has earned an A rating in the face of all sorts of adversity,’ said O2 Founder and CEO Rich Lincoln.
‘On some levels our strategy has had to change to keep the lights on but an early commitment to engage government and fishery stakeholders in the Zhangzhou region has paid dividends and created real partners. Regulators, fishers, processors, importers, and NGO’s all contribute to the work we’re doing. It’s a true collaboration”.’
A subset of these partners in China include QMCS, Tao Ran and the China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance (CAPPMA) and Zhangzhou Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance (ZAPPMA) which have been integral in securing Chinese government support for the work.
The status of the Fujian Red Crab FIP is updated biannually on fisheryprogress.org
