Guidance for Importers, Brands, and End Buyers to Engage in Jurisdictional Initiatives for the Seafood Sector

The document defines seafood jurisdictional initiatives (JIs) as place-based efforts that combine policy and market-based approaches to achieve holistic sustainability at ecological and political scales. It argues that while traditional certification, ratings, and improvement (CRI) efforts are valuable, they lack the scale to address systemic barriers like climate change, biodiversity loss, and labor rights. The guide outlines the roles of market partners in incentivizing governments through preferential sourcing and long-term contracts, and provides a step-by-step approach for prioritizing jurisdictions and determining investment. It emphasizes that JIs are complementary to CRI efforts and require long-term commitments—often 8 to 20 years—supported by robust monitoring, verification, and community-led governance.

• Seafood jurisdictional initiatives (JIs) are designed to address systemic barriers that traditional certification, ratings, and improvement (CRI) efforts cannot, such as cumulative environmental impacts, labor rights, climate change impacts, and biodiversity loss, which typically require policy changes.
• A credible seafood JI is defined as a place-based initiative in key production regions using policy and market-based approaches to drive holistic improvements in seafood production at relevant ecological and political scales, aiming for positive environmental, social, and economic outcomes.
• Importers and end buyers can incentivize governments to commit to sustainability by utilizing preferential sourcing, long-term contracts, and directing business toward jurisdictions that adhere to clear, time-bound plans for environmental and social responsibility.
• Successful JIs require long-term engagement, typically ranging from 8 to 20 years, due to the time needed for policy change, multistakeholder processes, and the realization of ecosystem-level outcomes.
• To maintain credibility and avoid greenwashing, JIs must implement strong monitoring and verification frameworks. Stakeholders are cautioned against making premature performance claims, focusing instead on structural and action claims during the early stages of the initiative.
• The document provides a three-step prioritization process for buyers: first, identifying jurisdictions based on sourcing footprint and risk; second, using assessments to determine critical issues; and third, determining investment commensurate with global volumes sourced.
• Case studies illustrate corporate application of these concepts: Tesco uses a "Seascape" approach for tuna to source only from fisheries with ecosystem-based management by 2030, and Walmart, Inc. classifies suppliers as using "best practices" if they source from a credible JI linked to positive impacts.

APA

Apel, A., Bradley, S., Chu, C., Cross, A., Klinger, D., Macleod, M., & Obregon, P. (2023). Guidance for Importers, Brands, and End Buyers to Engage in Jurisdictional Initiatives for the Seafood Sector. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/569/3xnjz1v6h2_FINAL_Guidance_Importers_Brands_EndBuyers__JurisdictionalInitiative_Vh0sJB3.pdf

Chicago

Apel, Ashley, Stephanie Bradley, Clarus Chu, Alison Cross, Dane Klinger, Merrielle Macleod, and Pablo Obregon. Guidance for Importers, Brands, and End Buyers to Engage in Jurisdictional Initiatives for the Seafood Sector. WWF International, 2023. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/569/3xnjz1v6h2_FINAL_Guidance_Importers_Brands_EndBuyers__JurisdictionalInitiative_Vh0sJB3.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Apel |first1=Ashley |last2=Bradley |first2=Stephanie |last3=Chu |first3=Clarus |last4=Cross |first4=Alison |last5=Klinger |first5=Dane |last6=Macleod |first6=Merrielle |last7=Obregon |first7=Pablo |title=Guidance for Importers, Brands, and End Buyers to Engage in Jurisdictional Initiatives for the Seafood Sector |publisher=WWF International |date=August 2023 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/569/3xnjz1v6h2_FINAL_Guidance_Importers_Brands_EndBuyers__JurisdictionalInitiative_Vh0sJB3.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{apel2023guidance, author = {Apel, Ashley and Bradley, Stephanie and Chu, Clarus and Cross, Alison and Klinger, Dane and Macleod, Merrielle and Obregon, Pablo}, title = {{Guidance for Importers, Brands, and End Buyers to Engage in Jurisdictional Initiatives for the Seafood Sector}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2023}, month = aug, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/569/3xnjz1v6h2_FINAL_Guidance_Importers_Brands_EndBuyers__JurisdictionalInitiative_Vh0sJB3.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }