Partner Profile: The Asia Seafood Improvement Collaborative (ASIC)
A group of international stakeholders dedicated to developing creative strategies for improving the Asian Seafood industry.
Asia is by far the world’s largest region in terms of global seafood production, and a significant portion of that production is done by small-scale fishers and small-scale aquaculture coops. Many of these producers are living at the base of the economic pyramid and therefore lack the capital to pay for supply chain improvement programs and certification standards that were originally developed for large-scale fisheries and aquaculture. As a result, few fisheries and small farmer cooperatives in the Asian seafood industry have the ability to achieve certification by existing international or best-in-class sustainability standards, such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC). The performance requirements and high cost of these certification programs are significant barriers for most fisheries the in region to achieve certification.
Given these gaps, an interim solution that fosters regional engagement can be useful to start fisheries on the pathway toward sustainable and responsible fisheries and aquaculture practices. This is where the Asia Seafood Improvement Collaborative (ASIC) comes in. ASIC was founded on three key principles that are critical for fostering improvement in fisheries and aquaculture operations in Asia:
- Develop strategies and tools with the direct engagement of the producers using a consensus-based approach to define and incentivize improvement
- Design tools that allow multiple compliance points for engagement with producers at all levels of performance
- Build tools that reflect the realties facing producers while seeking to align production with global sustainability standards where possible
Who is ASIC (from their website)?
Seafood is a vital food and economic source for hundreds of millions of people living and working in Asia. As the demands for increased seafood production from regional, domestic and international markets escalate, the Asian seafood industry is facing challenges that compromise the long-term sustainability of the industry and potentially threaten the livelihoods of millions of small-scale fishers and farmers. ASIC (the Asian Seafood Improvement Collaborative) was founded to foster dialogue and build consensus throughout the Asian seafood industry to tackle these challenges and to ensure a healthy ocean environment.
ASIC specifically addresses the unique impacts facing fishers, small farmers, producers and processors in Asia. ASIC engages stakeholders throughout the Asian seafood industry production supply chain in respectful dialogue that considers the societal impact of fostering improvement. While international certification standards for fisheries and aquaculture as well as commitments by international seafood buyers to source responsible seafood already exist, ASIC is expanding the adoption of sustainability standards and incentives for both supplier and buyer. ASIC is committed to forging improvements for the Asian seafood industry that support local, regional and international economic growth, a healthy ocean and global food security.
Why are they Fishcoin partners
One of ASIC’s primary functions is to distribute tools and strategies to the masses of producers and supply chain stakeholders in the Asian seafood industry. For Fishcoin this is critical. The Fishcoin team includes industry leaders in seafood supply chains, traceability, blockchain technology and mobile usability, but without wide-scale distribution to target users scaling the network will be a challenge. Partners like ASIC are already embedded within these clusters of users and can disseminate this technology, along with providing helpful feedback to refine our approach. Because of ASIC’s wide network of suppliers throughout Asia, as well as their influence because Asia is such a key market for producers, they will help prime the pump to help Fishcoin reach critical mass within the seafood industry.
Interested in becoming a Fishcoin partner?
Companies and organizations throughout the seafood industry are signing up almost daily to be rollout partners in the Fishcoin ecosystem. If you would like to know more about joining our community of partners please read through our white paper, and contact our team.
