NFI Red Crab Council Continues Fishery Improvement Work in China

As Work Matures and Produces Progress Ocean Outcomes, Local Partners & Crab Sustainability Group Remain Committed to FIP

May 1, 2023 Washington, DC – The NFI Red Crab Council and its sustainability partners, Ocean Outcomes (O2), are proud to announce they’re entering year 5 of the comprehensive Red Crab Fisheries Improvement Project (FIP) in China. Given the continued progress of the FIP and its ongoing efforts to improve the sustainability of 40,000 mt of crab caught by trawls and pots in the Minnan-Taiwan Bank, the FIP was recently awarded an ‘A’ rating on FisheryProgress.org for producing tangible outcomes on-the-water.

“I have called this effort The Little FIP That Could for many years now,” said Newport International President Anjan Tharakan, the NFI Red Crab Council Chair. “Year after year O2, their partners QMCS in China, and our member companies find a way to keep it moving in the right direction. I am as proud of the work done on the ground as I am that commitment. The operating climate has not been easy.”

This year, those involved in the FIP will conduct dockside catch monitoring, scientific analysis of catch samples, report catch-related data and convene local stakeholders to advance sustainability initiatives in the fishery, including assessing and identifying processes for addressing social risk.

“This FIP has earned an A rating in the face of all sorts of adversity,” said O2 Founder and CEO Rich Lincoln. “On some levels our strategy has had to change to keep the lights on but an early commitment to engage government and fishery stakeholders in the Zhangzhou region has paid dividends and created real partners. Regulators, fishers, processors, importers, and NGO’s all contribute to the work we’re doing. It’s a true collaboration”

A subset of these partners in China include QMCS, Tao Ran and the China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance (CAPPMA) and Zhangzhou Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance (ZAPPMA) which have been integral in securing Chinese government support for the work.

The status of the Fujian Red Crab FIP is updated biannually on fisheryprogress.org here.

The NFI Red Crab Council is the leading precompetitive collaboration effort focused solely on the sustainability of Red Swimming Crab. The Council is committed to collaborating on Red Crab Fisheries Improvement Projects globally.