Sustainable Fisheries and Communities Trust (SFACT)

Meet our team - Abbie Topping - Projects Coordinator and Aquaculture & Fisheries Specialist Abbie is an Aquaculture and Fisheries specialist with experience working as a Scottish Salmon farmer, certification scheme manager, and in the retail industry. She has developed her skills and expertise across the commercial, ethics and sustainability, and aquaculture standards, all of which have further developed her knowledge of the overall impacts of the seafood industry. She wants to continue to learn about and develop her insight into the fishery sector and believes deeply in the work that SFACT are carrying out across the world. Abbie's role at SFACT is to assist in the coordination of various projects through supporting SFACT’s scholars, and facilitating conversations between partner organisations as they work towards shared goals. #SustainableFishing #Sustainability #OceanAction #FairTrade #OceanLover #MarineLife #Seafood #SocialResponsibility #SupplyChains #OurOceans #Fisheries #SmallScaleFisheries #EquitableOceans #IndianOcean #CoastalCommunities #SustainableSeas #SmallScaleFishers #FoodTechnology #MeetOurTeam #ProjectsCoordinator #FisheriesSpecialist

Introducing SFACT's new trustee! At the end of 2023, the team at SFACT said thank you and goodbye to trustee Andrew Bassford but welcomed our new trustee Editrudith Lukanga. Recognised as a global leader for small scale fishers’ organisation, Editrudith has been a co-president of the World Forum of Fish Harvesters and Fish Workers since 2012. She is the Vice Chairperson of the East Africa Platform of Non-State Actors in Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector (EARFISH) and the Secretary General of the African women fish processors and traders network (AWFISHNET). She is a member of the Tanzania National Task Team (NTT) for implementation of the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries (SSF guidelines) in the context of food security and poverty alleviation. She is the Vice Chair of the International Steering Committee (ISC) of International Year for Artisinal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA), representing International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty (IPC) Working Group on Fisheries. She is a Coordination Committee and Advisory Group member of Civil Society Mechanism for relations with the UN Committee of the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project. Previously, she served as a governance advisor with the Netherlands development Organisation (SNV). We are absolutely thrilled to have Editrudith join our team and look forward to seeing how her knowledge and expertise can assist in our work here at SFACT. #SustainableFishing #Sustainability #OceanAction #FairTrade #OceanLover #MarineLife #Seafood #SocialResponsibility #SupplyChains #OurOceans #Fisheries #SmallScaleFisheries #EquitableOceans #IndianOcean #CoastalCommunities #SustainableSeas #SmallScaleFishers #FoodTechnology #trustee

It’s time for another scholar spotlight! This time we are showcasing a progress report from scholar Adam Ziyad. Adam started his PhD in August 2023, based at the University of Wollongong, Australia, under the supervision of Professor Quentin Hanich. His project’s working title is: Could the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission turn the tide to become an effective RFMO? Adam has been particularly busy during the first six months of his scholarship, and you can read more about Adam Ziyad’s project over on our website: https://lnkd.in/e5RQxgXG Photo credit: Jiri Rezac Photography #SustainableFishing #Sustainability #OceanAction #FairTrade #OceanLover #MarineLife #Seafood #SocialResponsibility #SupplyChains #OurOceans #Fisheries #SmallScaleFisheries #EquitableOceans #IndianOcean #CoastalCommunities #SustainableSeas #SmallScaleFishers #FoodTechnology #scholar #PhD #university #research

It's live! The Sustainable Fisheries and Communities Trust 2023 Annual Report is live on our website. With stories from scholars and projects all over the world, we invite you to read our first ever annual report. You can find it here on our website: https://lnkd.in/eK2n7ggm #sustainablefisheries #coastalcommunities #annualreport #oceanlover #smallscalefisheries #smallscalefishers #sustainability #scholars #OceanAction #FairTrade #Seafood #socialresponsibility #indianocean

It’s not long until the launch of our annual report, so here is another teaser in the meantime. The Somali Natural Resources Research Centre (SONRREC) was established in 2016 with the objective to protect, manage and shape the country’s natural resources. Their FAD retrieval project is investigating the impact of said fish aggregating devices (FADs). FADs are man-made objects used to attract a range of pelagic species including tuna and marlin. They often consist of buoys/floats tethered to the seabed with concrete blocks, however some FADs are not tethered and instead drift on the sea surface – these are called drifting FADs (dFADs). They attract fish as they tend to gather under the FADs for shelter. Fisheries, often purse seine fisheries, use these FADs along with other fishing methods to improve efficiency. Often, both FADs and drifting FADs (dFADs) are lost or abandoned, which results in marine pollution and entanglement, posing a threat to a variety of species such as turtles, sharks and seals, and destroying coral reefs. SFACT has funded SONRREC’s retrieval of these FADs on the Somali coast, and so far they have collected 31 FADs, making great progress towards their target of 100. You can read more about SONRREC’s FAD Retrieval Project in our annual report which will be launching later this month. Photo credit: RaroLens2 #SustainableFishing #Sustainability #OceanAction #FairTrade #OceanLover #MarineLife #Seafood #SocialResponsibility #SupplyChains #OurOceans #Fisheries #SmallScaleFisheries #EquitableOceans #IndianOcean #CoastalCommunities #SustainableSeas #SmallScaleFishers #FoodTechnology

Ahead of the launch of our annual report, we thought a teaser (or two) would be a great way of raising awareness of some of the incredible projects we fund. In Indonesia, current tuna catch data estimates for the IOTC are based upon research carried out over a decade ago and data from 2004. Amplifying the problem even further, the fishery in Indonesia is highly complex, consisting of many gear types and thousands of small-scale vessels. SFACT has been providing funding and technical support to run workshops in Indonesia for over two years. These workshops are to determine how we can develop good estimates of catch data. Being able to provide reliable data will allow for robust conservation and management strategies. You can read more about these Indonesia workshops in our annual report which will be launching very soon. Photo credit: Andrea Izzotti #SustainableFishing #Sustainability #OceanAction #FairTrade #OceanLover #MarineLife #Seafood #SocialResponsibility #SupplyChains #OurOceans #Fisheries #SmallScaleFisheries #EquitableOceans #IndianOcean #CoastalCommunities #SustainableSeas #SmallScaleFishers #FoodTechnology

Since our launch in 2020, we have been fortunate to fund 14 scholars on their PhD journeys. One of our first scholars, Indonesian national Ilham, is approaching the final stage of his PhD, so we thought we would shine a spotlight on his work. Ilham’s project is about capacity building of responsible parties for consolidating and integrating Indonesia tuna fishery data to improve analysis for sustainable management. With Indonesia being one of the largest tuna producing countries in the world, his work is of great importance to help maximise sustainability for the future. You can read more about Ilham's project on our website: https://lnkd.in/e5RQxgXG Photo credit: Yayasan Masyarakat dan Perikanan #SustainableFishing #Sustainability #OceanAction #FairTrade #OceanLover #MarineLife #Seafood #SocialResponsibility #SupplyChains #OurOceans #Fisheries #SmallScaleFisheries #EquitableOceans #IndianOcean #CoastalCommunities #SustainableSeas #SmallScaleFishers #FoodTechnology #Research #Scholars #PhD

We have been very busy at SFACT over the last couple of months preparing our first Annual Report for 2023! Over the last 12 months we have supported a number of scholars, researchers and projects around the world, and in our annual report we shine a light on a number of these. It will be launching later this month so keep an eye out on our socials and website for its release. #annualreport #annualreport2023 #SustainableFishing #Sustainability #OceanAction #FairTrade #OceanLover #MarineLife #Seafood #SocialResponsibility #SupplyChains #OurOceans #Fisheries #SmallScaleFisheries #EquitableOceans #IndianOcean #CoastalCommunities #SustainableSeas #SmallScaleFishers #FoodTechnology

Sharks are one of the most important and charismatic species in our oceans, but new research has highlighted that despite a global effort towards their conservation, shark mortality continues to rise. The recently published paper by Dr Boris Worm et al provides the first comprehensive analysis on shark fishing data since the increase in regulations from Governments and Regional Fisheries Management Organisations. Ready our blog piece here: https://lnkd.in/e5RQxgXG You can read the research by Worm, Orofino, Burns, D’Costa, Feitosa, Palomares, Schiller and Bradley here: https://lnkd.in/e_494Zhf #SustainableFishing #Sustainability #OceanAction #FairTrade #OceanLover #MarineLife #Seafood #SocialResponsibility #SupplyChains #OurOceans #Fisheries #SmallScaleFisheries #EquitableOceans #IndianOcean #CoastalCommunities #SustainableSeas #SmallScaleFishers #FoodTechnology #SharkFishing #SharkMortality #SharkFinTrade

Have you heard the news? 📰 European Parliament has given its final approval to the #NatureRestorationLaw! With key #ocean 🌊 & #fisheries 🐡 provisions, this is a BIG win for the marine environment. #RestoreOcean #RestoreNature Read our reaction: https://lnkd.in/gmKNT5fc