Guest Speaker at the Marine Stewardship Council Global Workshop – The Netherlands

On a sunny morning in June in Scheveningen – a well-known beach in the Netherlands - our FIA PNG COO, Marcelo Hidalgo, was invited to be the guest speaker for more than 170 commercial and fisheries Managers, Directors, and team members who met for a week in the Netherlands.

It was an honour to be invited as a guest speaker and a great pleasure to speak with the Marine Stewardship Council’s commercial and fisheries global teams. He started by sharing a bit about his background and experience in sustainable fishing, which has been shaped through years of working closely with aquaculture, seafood processing, and various fisheries across the world. Starting in Ecuador in the Aquaculture sector, moving to the longline fishery & fresh processing, to the tuna purse seiner industry, passing by the tuna canning and working in more than 60 countries.

Although our FIA PNG COO has been working in the Seafood Industry for more than 29 years; his journey in sustainable fishing started over sixteen years ago, driven by a deep commitment to ensuring the long-term health of our marine ecosystems while supporting the livelihoods of local communities at that time for the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA), later by 2024 with Assurance Services International ASI had the opportunity to assess farming, fisheries and processing against a robust accreditation process and auditor monitoring and surveillance protocol, and started with FIA PNG in 2017 with RD Fishing Group. 

Working with the MSC framework has been instrumental in having a positive impact on the fisheries. The principles and rigorous standards of the MSC have provided a solid foundation for guiding fisheries towards sustainability, helping us to balance ecological preservation with economic viability.

Since 2018, our FIA PNG COO has created and implemented the responsible Sourcing Policy together with our team, which has elevated the FIA PNG image as a reference in the region, but also globally among tuna buyers and NGOs. Notably, the lobster and tuna fisheries in PNG stand out as successful examples of how collaboration, science-based management, and community engagement can lead to meaningful progress.

He shared challenges in the process of getting the MSC fishery certification, but also the ones faced in the implementation of RSP pillars like Crew Welfare due diligence and certification (FISH), and the continuous work on Marine litter and Fishing gear. 

A success story was to learn how FIA PNG has become a technical office that is even developing science with different universities, research centres, and scientists by sharing data and providing key insights and experience.

These experiences underscore the importance of partnership, science, and ongoing improvement in achieving sustainability goals. As we look forward, FIA PNG is excited about continuing this journey with the MSC and leveraging our collective expertise to support more fisheries in PNG and beyond, ensuring marine resources are conserved and thriving for generations to come.

MSC staff asked a lot of questions regarding our experiences of communicating about fisheries and sustainability to different audiences, events, and congresses, which is key to amplifying our mission, vision, and our on-site continuous work. How our stories and speeches inspire not only other fisheries but also policymakers to enhance a comprehensive approach to fisheries (people, planet, profit)

It was also shared that our Small-Scale fisheries are facing challenges when it comes to financing and maintaining the sustainability recognition.

We would like to thank MSC for the invitation and the opportunity given to share our experiences, challenges, our log-frame, and where we want to go during this wonderful morning in Scheveningen – The Netherlands.