Model and Strategy
Climate change. Coral bleaching. Plastics. These threats to our oceans are well known. Yet, the greatest and most immediate threat to our oceans is coastal overfishing.
Coastal overfishing threatens the health and livelihood of some of the world’s poorest communities. Fishing employs more than 180 million people worldwide and provides the main source of protein for a billion more. Coastal fisheries collapsing is the result of many factors including poor governance and rising populations.
No fish on the reef means fishers have no fish to feed their families or to sell in the market. Coastal overfishing is an environmental problem that could become a humanitarian crisis.
Rare works to restore the world’s coastal fisheries and the coral reefs and mangroves on which they depend. Our Fish Forever program empowers communities to manage local waters by enabling rights-based management, creating marine reserves and fostering behavior change.
Enduring conservation requires economic development. OurFish is a mobile app that tracks catch and allows for better fishery management, builds financial resiliency and opens pathways for new economic opportunity for these communities.
Impact
Fish Forever is not just about fish, it’s about the livelihoods of fishers, their families and communities, and one billion people worldwide who depend on fish for protein.
OurFish is a key element for the success of our approach. It provides real-time data on marine biodiversity, so we can better track fish population. It empowers fishers with catch and sales information so they can better plan their own finances, and start saving money. It allows us to place a value on small-scale fishing that will draw the attention of banks, insurance companies and government investment within these communities.
For the first time, fishing communities and local governments have access to more accurate data to make better decisions. Individual fishers and fish buyers are better equipped to manage their earnings and pursue new economic opportunities. Local communities will finally have access to economic development tools such as savings clubs, national and international investment, and insurance. Furthermore, national and regional governments will have better data to make evidence-based policy and resource allocation decisions.
In the Philippines alone, a nation of 7,000 islands, there are 900 municipalities that could benefit from OurFish adoption and the overall Fish Forever model. We have an opportunity to transform coastal fisheries and positively impact the livelihoods for an entire nation.
Our ambition is truly global in scale. It is nothing less than the worldwide transformation of coastal fisheries. And that level of impact is within reach.
Leadership
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Brett Jenks
President & CEO
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Rocky Sanchez Tirona
Vice President, Philippines
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Dr. Stephen Box
Senior Vice President, Fish Forever