【2025 New Year's Dialogue】Considering Human Rights Issues Together with the ILO: How Companies Can Approach the Supply Chain (Part 1)
INTERVIEW
Teresa Ish has worked to promote sustainable fisheries management and healthier seas, as a foundation that supports NGOs and other organizations, from a perspective that spans diverse positions. In Part I, we spoke with her about the experiences that led to her path, her current work with the Foundation, its connections with Japan and the reasons behind those, and involvement with specific partners that receive the Foundation’s support. In Part II, we ask about differences in the perspectives of NGOs and the Foundation, signs of major change, and expectations for the Tokyo Sustainable Seafood Summit 2024 (TSSS2024) in October.
（Read Part 1)
―― What differences are there between the Foundation and the NGOs or other organizations where you have worked, and what respective roles do they play?
I majored in natural sciences and obtained a degree in resource evaluation. In short, this is science that supports the foundation of fisheries management. During my university days, however, I realized that scientists are cut off from opportunities for decision-making and are not involved in actual decisions.
I’ve gradually come to see that, for good or for bad, business wields great influence over what actually happens in the seas. The question, then, is one of how we can make science function in the real world and connect that to improving fisheries. Accordingly, I chose an NGO that connects research to companies.
Companies that have a clear awareness of how sustainability- and human rights-related issues can pose risks to businesses, brands, and economic success are still few. In the past, even the existence of these risks was not recognized. The role of NGOs is to shed light on these issues, clarify the goals that companies and government bodies should move toward, and ensure forward motion.
But NGOs, too, have things they do and don’t do well. They’re not able to do things alone, nor do they need to. That’s why collaboration is important. It allows parties to complement each other through slightly differing perspectives and expertise, while sharing a greater vision. This makes it possible to deal with vast, complex issues.
Our Foundation will consider ways to combine diverse perspectives through support for NGOs and the communities they work with, and how to connect this to overall effectiveness.
―― Going back, your goal has been to incorporate science into the businesses that hold sway over seafood fisheries.
That’s right. This is also connected to what I want to talk about at the upcoming TSSS2024, but leading companies that actively work toward seafood sustainability are starting to appear. At the same time, though, a lot of companies have yet to take action.
When the leader advances but the tail holds still and the distance only gets greater, that’s no good. The leader also becomes unable to keep on moving forward. Solving this requires policies that raise the baseline. These could be coercive means, such as import restrictions.
Another thing we’re watching is financial markets. When companies are unable to get loans for business activities without proof of sustainability, that provides a powerful incentive.
This calls for an approach of clearly communicating a lack of sustainability as a financial risk. Businesses that procure from suppliers who overfish won’t last long; from a purely economic point of view, they represent risks. There are objective criteria for this. Through the sharing of reliable information, the financial industry recognizes the risks involved in sustainability and is incorporating them into its decision-making.
Toward this end, we support partners such as the World Benchmarking Alliance and the Science Based Targets Network. These organizations present targets that should be achieved to avoid risks, and disclose individual companies’ degree of achievement toward those targets.
―― I’m starting to see how you engage in multi-faceted actions aimed at solving the issues.
The entirety of the issues is so complex and vast that we first need to figure out who the players are, who is doing what, and what incentives and obstacles exist. We’re unable to put forth all of the funds needed, so we work closely with other foundations.
Along with the bird’s-eye perspective that a foundation is able to take, it’s also important that we exchange information with partners involved in fishing. From the partners we support, we often find out specifically what sort of issues are occurring at which fisheries.
In recent years, a lot of companies have taken the initiative in acting on behalf of change. These companies possess knowledge and information far beyond ours, and act with sincerity as they see risks to their core business.
Not long ago, there was something interesting in The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) report* from the United Nations. Overfished species are at the highest level ever and the picture overall is by no means an optimistic one, but about three-quarters of large-scale fisheries have extricated themselves from a state of overfishing. This change was brought about by seafood companies demanding sustainable procurement. Regulations by governments, too, are starting to show effect.
―― The 10th Tokyo Sustainable Seafood Summit, TSSS2024, is scheduled for October 2024 in Tokyo. You’ve been a speaker at the event since its beginning. Can you tell me your hopes and thoughts regarding TSSS?
TSSS is a one-of-a-kind gathering that brings together key players in Japan and creates a ground for diverse perspectives and new ideas. It has attracted attention internationally as well. Part of its background lies in an understanding of the importance of the Japanese market. A number of the world’s largest seafood companies are in Japan, and their influence is immeasurable. If we want to team up with them, it’s obvious that it’s best for us to come to their home ground.
There’s also the unique cultural aspect that Japan’s market has. I’ve said that seafood is not just a matter of marine creatures but also of food and culture (Part 1). Japan’s seafood culture is known to the world. There’s an inevitability to discussing seafood in Japan. And there are also expectations that Japan will become a leader in sustainable seafood.
―― What has changed in the 10 years since the first TSSS?
There have been a lot of changes.
The event began in 2015, when the issue of seafood sustainability first came to be recognized in Japan. At the time, seafood and retail companies in Japan lagged behind Europe and the US in terms of their awareness and their initiatives for sustainability. Today, seafood companies and retailers in Japan, too, are formulating sustainability policies, international certification is becoming widespread, and Japan, the US, and Europe are marching in lockstep.
Japanese companies need to continue adopting human rights and environmental due diligence and addressing forced labor and illegal fishing in the supply chain. In Europe and the US, many companies involved in issues such as forced labor in the supply chain have been censured by name in investigative reports. Japanese companies could face the same situation. Nothing good will come from pretending not to see problems.
This is an area where American companies, too, are hesitant, something that I think offers Japan an opportunity to take the lead. A decade after the launch of TSSS, Japan now stands shoulder to shoulder with the world. I have expectations that it will move forward as a leader from here on out.
Teresa Ish (rightmost) speaks from a position of supporting collaboration with major seafood companies at the panel discussion on “A commitment to sustainability that began in the fisheries industry” at TSSS 2018.―― In those circumstances, what do you think are the key things that Japan’s fisheries and seafood companies should focus on?
I’m of the impression that Japanese companies – though not all of them – have so far not been very active in heading into the fisheries they procure from to work together on improving fisheries. Participation in FIP, support for improving fisheries, involvement in traceability that connects catches to sales – there should be room for major growth in these areas.
I think that the world’s fisheries industries, not only in Japan, are now at a major turning point. We can make the ocean healthier and increase the production of seafood through appropriate fishery management. This also connects to suppressing climate change. Now is our last chance to achieve this transformation.
Toward this end, government administrations also have to make a difficult political decision: the decision to put a complete stop to illegal fishing. There’s a need for the field data and the scientific and objective information that form the grounds for doing so.
We’ve seen the failure of a number of major fisheries and the collapse of the communities that depend on them. Rebuilding collapsed fisheries takes a lot of time. Preventing collapse is far easier, but to do so, both companies and governments need to take action now. In the future, difficulties caused by climate change will pile up, and solutions will only become harder.
This is truly our last chance. We can still fix things if we act now, and we have the means of doing so.
―― With such massive issues in mind, tell us what should be done at the upcoming TSSS along with your expectations for the summit.
I think TSSS is going to be a major venue in two ways. One is about sharing and celebrating the results that have been achieved. Constantly running without looking back on achievements is exhausting. TSSS is an important venue in this regard.
The other, of course, is about sharing recognition of issues and making decisions aimed at moving forward. As a forum for a wide range of stakeholders to gather and share all kinds of ideas, TSSS is a vital platform.
―― Thank you very much. Could you tell us what sort of message you yourself wish to communicate at TSSS?
Yes. First, I’m very honored and grateful to be invited again.
To repeat what I’ve said, the issues are solvable. We’ve actually seen several examples of putting an end to overfishing and avoiding the collapse of fisheries.
Amid so many other environmental issues that seem too difficult and unsolvable, I want people to know that seafood sustainability is an environmental issue that offers hope for the future. It’s vast and complex, but it’s an issue that we can solve by sharing recognition and putting tools to proper use.
―― What sort of people would in particular would you like to hear this message right now?
The first would be persons in government involved in fisheries management. Also, let me note that this is an issue that involves commerce, the economy, health, food security, worker safety, everything. If the government ministers responsible for these areas were to realize the importance of sustainable fisheries and take part in TSSS, that would truly be a memorable day.
Teresa Ish
Teresa Ish serves as the leader of the Walton Family Foundation’s Oceans initiative, which seeks to protect ocean ecosystems through sustainable fisheries. Before joining the foundation, she worked on the formulation of procurement policies as the seafood project manager for the Corporate Partnerships Program at Environmental Defense Fund. She is also a co-founder of FishWise, an early leader in the sustainable seafood movement. She has a master’s degree in marine science and joint bachelors in environmental studies and marine biology from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and recently completed a certificate in Corporate Finance at the Harvard Extension School.
Original Japanese text: Keiko Ihara
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