Partnering with Australia’s sustainable wild-caught seafood industry

Longreach Maris aims to deliver positive social and environmental sustainability outcomes within Australia’s wild-caught seafood industry. Longreach Maris’ key positive impact objectives are:

• Supporting regional fishing communities and assisting in the long-term financial sustainability of Australian fishers.
• Helping to reduce barriers to entry into the wild-caught seafood industry for the next generation of Australian fishers.
• Providing long-term ITQ access and security to the next generation of Australian fishers.
• Supporting the industry in addressing its aging demographic by facilitating inter-generational transfer of ITQs and ensuring opportunity for the next generation of Australian fishers.
• Engaging with and actively supporting indigenous groups and programs to support and to protect existing employment, provide business training and foster new employment opportunities.
• Helping to retain local ownership of Australian ITQs, in part by assisting fishing families to achieve positive succession planning outcomes.
• Reducing Australian fishers’ reliance on debt to secure long-term access to ITQ.
• Driving positive change through industry co-operation, collaboration, training and employment initiatives.
• Strengthening the sustainability of Australia’s fisheries, including obtaining Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) accreditation for Australian fisheries.
• Assisting in meeting relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Through its approach to investing in Australia’s wild-caught seafood industry, Longreach Maris aims to achieve real, measurable impact and sustainability outcomes to help environmental and social challenges facing the wild-caught seafood industry, their regional communities and the global protein supply-chain.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals are 17 objectives for promoting ecological sustainability, social wellbeing, and economic development. It provides governments, companies, and investors with a global blueprint to sustainable investing.

Identifying and targeting a specific set of sustainability objectives forms a key component of Longreach Maris’ investment approach. Longreach Maris is committed to addressing the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:

Through its approach to investing in Australia’s wild-caught seafood industry, Longreach Maris aims to achieve real, measurable impact and sustainability outcomes to help environmental and social challenges facing the wild-caught seafood industry, their regional communities and the global protein supply-chain.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals are 17 objectives for promoting ecological sustainability, social wellbeing, and economic development. It provides governments, companies, and investors with a global blueprint to sustainable investing.

Identifying and targeting a specific set of sustainability objectives forms a key component of Longreach Maris’ investment approach. Longreach Maris is committed to addressing the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:

Seafood provides a major source of protein to nearly 3 billion people. Maintaining or rebuilding fish stocks is essential to ensure the long-term availability of food. ITQ managed fisheries not only safeguard the natural environment, they also contribute to global targets to end hunger and ensure sustainable economic growth.

Key target

2.3 – double the productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples and fishers, including through secure and equal access to productive resources and inputs

Many fishers have experienced the economic benefit, including access to preferred markets and price premiums, as a result of ITQ managed fisheries.

Key target

8.5 – to achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value
8.6 – to substantially reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training

Oceans cover 75% of the Earth’s surface and over 3 billion people depend on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods. Globally, the market value of marine and coastal resources and industries is estimated at $3 trillion per year (about 5% of global GDP). Marine fisheries directly or indirectly employ over 200 million people

Key target

14.4 – to effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices, implement science-based management plans, to restore fish stocks, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield
14.b – provide access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets
14.7 – increase the economic benefits to Small Island Developing States (in the context of Northern Australia e.g. Torres Strait Islands) from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries

The Longreach Maris Innovate RAP, formally endorsed by Reconciliation Australia, reinforces Longreach Maris’ continued commitment and high strong conviction to foster, drive and support positive social and economic change for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples within Australia’s valuable wild-caught seafood industry.

Guided by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, the Australian Government’s ‘Closing the Gap’ strategy and the National Fisheries Plan, Longreach Maris is focused on delivering positive social, economic, and environmentally sustainable outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Our Innovate RAP will guide our work efforts in achieving these important and meaningful positive impact objectives.

Longreach Maris joins a network of more than 3,000 corporate, government- and not-for-profit organisations that have made a formal commitment to reconciliation through the RAP program.

Please click here to access our Reflect RAP.