This article was originally published on Impact Alpha.
“Managing wild fisheries with proven sustainability practices can mean bigger, not smaller, catches of tasty seafood. That creates an opportunity for investors with a long-term view who are willing to invest through the transition period required for depleted fisheries to recover.
Three fund managers who are early adopters of such a strategy have joined forces with the Environmental Defense Fund to develop a set of guidelines, the Principles for Investment in Sustainable Wild-Caught Fisheries, to help attract capital from investors. The principles include requiring fisheries to meet all national and international fishing laws, to understand the environmental status of the waters they work in and analyze the future environmental risks, and to use transparent sourcing systems.
…Research shows that with sustainable management, more than three-quarters of the world’s fisheries could recover within 10 years. That means the efforts could double the amount of fish in the ocean and safely increase catches enough to feed an additional half a billion people. Fishing communities could increase their annual revenue by more than $50 billion annually.
To get there requires more of everything: more capital invested by more funds in more investment-ready deals. In addition to Encourage, the other fund managers who have adopted the principles are Rare, which runs the Meloy Fund, which has raised $17 million of a $20 million target; and Althelia Ecosphere, which expects a $50 million first close of its Sustainable Ocean Fund by the end of June. The European Investment Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and AXA are among the investors committed to the planned $100 million fund…”
Read on at: Impact Alpha.
