Seafood in Japan and Sweden - alternative pathways to sustainability

The seafood sector is set to provide a more important contribution to feeding a growing world population. A key challenge is to deliver healthy seafood to the consumer in a both environmentally and socially sustainable way.

Typical approaches have been private standards, including certification schemes and eco-labelling, which have grown popular in North America and Europe. The Asian markets, however, have been slower to engage with these approaches.

As the continent is a major (and growing) global player, both in terms of consumption and export, it is crucial to investigate seafood sustainability from an Asian perspective.

This project asks 1) What are the key differences between seafood markets and sustainability thinking in Asian and European country contexts? 2) What are the motivations and barriers of actors along the supply chain to move towards sustainability in these contexts? 3) Are there alternatives to seafood certification schemes that are better suited to different countries?

The project uses Japan as the Asian case study, a country rarely investigated in terms of seafood sustainability approaches, but with high levels of seafood consumption and cultural connection to the sea.

Japan will be compared to Sweden to investigate differences in seafood markets, with a novel focus on mid-supply chain actors.

Seafood research has previously often centered around consumers, so a shift in focus will enable an identification of new leverage points for sustainability.