EcoGourmet: Bringing sustainable fish to your plate

Full Solution

Fisher from Bahía Solano with sustainably caught red snapper.

Fondo Acción

Since 2009, EcoGourmet has enhanced the technical and administrative capacities of artisanal fishing cooperatives and to achieve responsible fishing. EcoGourmet facilitates the signing of fair agreements between suppliers, fishing cooperatives and restaurants and sensitizes consumers to the ramifications of their purchasing decisions. Participating restaurants offer locally sourced, sustainably caught fish. Negative impacts on ecosystems are reduced while profits for local fishers increased.

Last update: 24 Oct 2017

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Context

Challenges addressed

In Colombia, local fishing communities generally live in isolated areas, far away from cities and markets, have limited infrastructure, means and knowledge to properly produce and handle fish products that meet the high quality and sustainability standards big markets require.

- Community based organizations not always have the skills, structure and trasnparent to be commercially and managerial viable. Logistics and communication are a big challenge to connect with the last part of the chain. Traceability is huge challenge to be able to promote sustainable practices, need to monitor and evaluate during periods of time by external part. Data collection of fish capture monitoring, the organizations have to be responsible of the information to analyze and be able to guarantee a protection of the ecosystem. Packing for fresh fish is important to figure out a way to reuse or recycle the cavas or new cavas to be more responsible in terms of life cycle of the packaging.

Scale of implementation

Local

National

Ecosystems

Beach

Open sea

Theme

Species management

Sustainable livelihoods

Infrastructure maintenance

Traditional knowledge

Fisheries and aquaculture

Location

Colombia

South America

Process

Building Blocks

Responsible fisheries

Good practices for fishing, manufacturing, storage and marketing of fish products were implemented together with artisanal fishing communities in the Colombian Pacific coast. A way of measuring the proper implementation of these good practices is also being developed. Results and impacts were measured through biological and socioeconomic monitoring of key variables to as to evaluate the changes achieved by the project, both in ecosystems and in organizations or executing agencies.

Enabling factors

Communities are aware of their ecosystems and the pressure on it, so are available for a solution. The communities know and understand the importance to register information of the species, frequency of capture and size for guarantee a sustainable fisheries. With the previous experience, we have learned the importance of measure results and impacts in the long run to be able to follow up changes at the organization and ecosystem level.

Lesson learned

The communities are willing to generate conservation mechanisms such as protected area, but to organize and implement the agreement take time and resources. The monitor system and data collection demand lots of time and expenses. Also to be representative it´s necessary to have serious of time for a statistical analysis and species pressure simulation.

Trade agreements

Trade agreements between restaurants and local organizations promote a fair compensation that recognizes the actions taken by grassroots organizations in favor of conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Restaurants and local organizations sign and implement these agreements to sustainably manage coastal and marine ecosystems. They establish a strategic network to engage in a process whose priority is the sustainability of natural resources.

Enabling factors

Commitment of local producers and consumers (restaurants) to produce and offer high quality fish products.

Lesson learned

Following a code for responsible fisheries (i.e. compliance to minimum sizes of fish) leads to high quality of fish products, generate economic benefits to local communities and positive impacts on the environmental status. The communities are willing to generate conservation mechanisms such as protected area, but to organize and implement the agreement takes time and resources.

Organizational empowerment

Strengthening administrative and accounting considering the weaknesses identified under two diagnostic tools Interagency Conflict Assessment Framework (ICAF) & FOCO. Implementing best fishing practices with investment in fishing gear, boats and engines, as well in the handling and processing during the post capture handle adequately in the collection centres, according to the quality standards and procedures. This component involves investments in infrastructure, equipment and tools for their processing area. Establish and implement logistic processes internally and externally to ensure the cold chain and distribution.

Enabling factors

The replacement of nets, hooks, fishing gears, boats and engine it´s been a process with the national authority Autoridad Nacional de Acuicultura y Pesca (AUNAP) since 2012. The community based organizations have been establish and functioning for more than 3 years. Most of them have done projects with different entities.

Lesson learned

Community-based organizations need a lot of following up for the administrative and accountable progress. The logistic process needs to be an effort of all the value chain to guarantee the quality of the products.

Consumer sensitization

Customers of associated EcoGourmet restaurants are sensitized on responsible consumption via workshops and restaurants's placemats containing information about sustainable fishing and responsible consumption.

Enabling factors

Commitment of participating restaurants to sustainable fishing. The tendency of consumers is changing, so are willing to try and know more about the origin and production process of their food.

Lesson learned

The project allowed to reach thousands of consumers with messages emphasizing the importance of preserving marine resources.

Communication strategy

Results, achievements and learning experiences of the program were disseminated among different audiences to illustrate the impact of the innovative business model. This implies communications with the end users about arrangements for conservation and sustainable management, ethics and fair nature of trade agreements for suppliers, and the results and impact of this business model, so that their consumer decisions become effective support to it. Communication of lessons learned during implementation of the project taking into account the different target audience, to share the results and achievements of the project visible to the players that make possible the design and EcoGourmet initiative, organize or disclose the stories and experiences, so that not only results count as facts and figures, but changes, perceptions and learning that have a greater qualitative component, especially those involved in the project (organizations, beneficiaries, etc.).

Enabling factors

The previous experience with WOK restaurants and Red de Frio, gives a good example how to improve the conditions of community-based organizations and the perceptions on consumers in Bogotá and Cali. The dissemination of impacts and results is easy via social networks such as twitter and facebook.

Lesson learned

The communication process for the program has generated some notes regarding the business model, however the disclosure will be more when the program starts with the market agreement.

Impacts

From the first phase of EcoGourmet the impactas are: 197 Wok clients attended responsible consumption workshops and almost 600,000 clients saw the restaurants´ placemats that contained important information about sustainable fishing practices. Most importantly, at the beginning of the project 6% of clients kept in mind their environmental commitment when it came to selecting fish products, by the end of the project, this number had risen to 21% .

At the second phase the impacts are:

More than 10 species sold in restaurants in Bogotá and Cali. The community based organizations located in Buenaventura (Valle del Cauca- Department) have had a commercial experience almost every week, since 3 months ago. More than 300 fishermen included in the activity. More than 100 dispatch thru Cali distributor.Three channels of trade, distributor in Cali, directly restaurant organization and directly organization local businesses. More than 10 new restaurants interested in EcoGourmet and buying from the organizations thru channels described. Average volume per week 300 Kg of fresh fish.

Challenges:

Beneficiaries

858 fishermen distributed in 5 community based organizations, and fish consumers in 5 allied restaurants. However actively selling are around 300 fishermen in the organizations located in Buenaventura.