'Climate Winners': How the Fisheries Supply Chain Can Weather Climate Change

WHAT ARE CLIMATE WINNERS? 

Climate change is driving species to migrate to new areas, leading to changes in access to the resource that will affect not only producers and fisheries management, but also the larger supply chain, from processors and wholesalers all the way to the consumer. Seafood businesses must be prepared to adapt to survive in today’s conditions, but siloed thinking and mistrust among researchers, practitioners, and industry have prevented us from developing solutions at a system-wide level.

Profile of Atlantic Croaker, a climate winner species presented to businesses as part of the climate-adaptive supply chains research project

With rapidly warming temperatures and a favorable poleward location, New England is set to receive new opportunities in the form of ‘climate winner’ species– commercial species predicted to persist or expand in a given region under climate impacts. Examples of such species include climate mitigative organisms like kelp in the Gulf of Maine and hard shell clams, as well as shifting finfish like black sea bass, longfin squid, Atlantic croaker, and scup. In addition to becoming more abundant in New England waters, many of these species are also ‘underutilized’, meaning that they are well within commercial capture limits and could play a much bigger role in consumer markets with the right incentives.

CLIMATE WINNER RESILIENCE: FOR PEOPLE, PLANET, AND PROFIT 

While climate-driven species shifts may be a relatively new phenomenon, seafood suppliers have long been adapting to other supply chain changes. Our research looking at adaptability to species shifts among New England suppliers showed that even the most globally integrated businesses have had to pivot in response to supply chain disruptions such as COVID-19, changes in resource availability, and workforce changes. Businesses enact a suite of adaptive strategies to buffer the stress: changes in harvest and/or source location, species, and buy and sell price being the most common. In the face of species shifts, our research showed that different businesses may experience unique challenges based on their business structure and mode of operation. For instance, smaller, more locally focused businesses may be used to rotating a variety of local species according to season, but have little to no experience with climate winner species since they originated from outside of the region. On the other hand, climate stressors may challenge larger, globally integrated businesses in a different way, since their sourcing based on consumer demand tends to constrain their knowledge base, markets, and infrastructure.

With global supply chain disruptions only expected to increase, businesses and management are recognizing the advantages of integrating shorter and more diverse supply chains, which allow businesses to mitigate risk and engage in strong, place-based relationships. Under climate change conditions, locally resilient species can offer a triple bottom line for consumers, who get to experience new varieties of fresh and local fish and a deeper connection with community; diversified profits for businesses; and better stewardship for the local environment. 

BARRIERS TO MARKET DEVELOPMENT 

Accommodating locally resilient species will depend on a flexible supply chain with infrastructure to harvest and market. To this end, our research found several factors that are non-negotiable to realize opportunities with climate winners in New England: 

  • Knowledge of:

    • Market price, volume/value status, and effort to process

    • Preparation methods, culinary value, and other value proposition characteristics 

  • Access to:

    • Harvest (regulatory allowance)

    • Processing infrastructure 

    • Markets 

Aside from these factors, ultimately the species also needs to have value for a particular business and fit with its existing customer profile and bottom line. It is therefore important that businesses have access to a wide array of climate winners. All of this requires addressing both policy and consumer constraints to align incentives towards greater flexibility in the ways we source and sell local seafood.  

SOLUTION: ROADMAP FOR CLIMATE-RESILIENT SUPPLY CHAINS

Seafood businesses play a crucial role in establishing markets for climate winner species by serving as intermediaries between supply and demand. Eating with the Ecosystem’s Roadmap for Climate-resilient Seafood Supply Chains, led by Nicky Roberts and Kate Masury, will provide a platform for these insights and highlight pillars of resilience, successful initiatives, and barriers to progress in New England and across the U.S. By working with suppliers directly, we can generate focused and actionable advice to equip industry and decision makers with the tools necessary to amplify climate winners in New England seafood markets.

Over the course of 2024, we will source well-rounded information for the plan by connecting industry leaders in several ways:

  1. Webinar co-hosted with the Local Catch Network (January 23rd, 2024 at 1 pm EST on Zoom) – to present conclusions from our academic publication to a reputable networking institution, soliciting input and examples/species to be featured in the work. 

  2. Panel discussion at Maine Fishermen’s Forum (Friday March 1st, 2024 from 2:45-4pm EST at the Samoset Resort, Rockport, ME)- to communicate industry resilience strategies, challenges, and utilization of climate winner species to diverse attendees including New England policymakers, managers, fishermen, and suppliers. 

  3. Working session in conjunction with the North American Seafood Expo, Boston (Monday, March 11, 2024 at Seaport, Boston, exact time and location TBD): convening 10 to 15 seafood businesses across New England to devise an outline for the climate resilience roadmap.

    Are you a New England-based business? Register for our session here

Giving seafood businesses a platform to share their struggles, strategies, and species is essential to driving climate-resilient market development and supporting the triple bottom line of industry, consumers, and planet. To join us in these efforts, please describe your interest our Google Form or send an email to the project leads, nicky@eatingwiththeecosystem.org and kate@eatingwiththeecosystem.org

Stay tuned for more information on climate winners and updates from the project in future blog posts!