‘Blue recovery bond’ could help turn the tide on overfishing
Planet Tracker launches interactive tool for fisheries to measure eligibility
- Planet Tracker’s new framework proposes a ‘blue recovery bond’ – a novel financial product offering capital to fisheries in exchange for a temporary reduction in fishing.
- Planet Tracker has made this framework available to the public through its new interactive tool that measures the eligibility of any given fishery.
- The paper analyses 295 fisheries; finding 65 strong candidates for a blue recovery bond.
London, 28 September 2023: Today Planet Tracker launches a new framework and interactive tool for fisheries to evaluate their suitability for a ‘Blue Recovery Bond’, a new financial product devised by the organisation. The report, Fishing for a Recovery, proposes this financial product that could improve the health of fish populations that billions depend on worldwide.
The demand for seafood is projected to rise to 267.5 million tonnes by 2050, up from 157.4 million in 2020, which is ilikely to push many fish stocks to unsustainable levels.ii
Planet Tracker’s recommended ‘Blue Recovery Bond’ involves financial institutions providing fishing companies with an upfront investment to fund a temporary reduction in fishing pressure. Once fish populations recover, companies repay investors through a levy on the catch.
The report analyses 295 fisheries on factors such as the health of existing fish stock, quality of management and environmental compliance, and finds 65 of them are strong candidates for the ‘Blue Recovery Bond’. This analytical framework is now available through Planet Tracker’s new interactive tool.
François Mosnier, Head of the Oceans programme at Planet Tracker, comments: “Fishers and investors in fishing companies rely on healthy ecosystems. With a Blue Recovery Bond, the interests of investors, fishers and fish are aligned. Returns can be high since fish populations regenerate quickly. We encourage participants in the fishing industry to try our new assessment tool to see whether it would benefit their fisheries.”
Fishing for a Recovery can be downloaded in full here.
ENDS
i Wang F, Cage A, Mosnier F, “Avoiding Aquafailure”, Planet Tracker (May 2023)
https://planet-tracker.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Aquafailure-VF.pdf
ii Hoegh-Guldberg, Ove, et al. 2015. Reviving the Ocean Economy: the case for action – 2015. WWF International, Gland, Switzerland., Geneva. Page 12;
For more information please contact:
Izzy Schaw Miller, ESG Communications | t: +44 7905 619881 | izzy@esgcomms.com
ABOUT PLANET TRACKER
Planet Tracker is a non-profit financial think tank producing analytics and reports to align capital markets with planetary boundaries. Our mission is to create significant and irreversible transformation of global financial activities by 2030. By informing, enabling and mobilising the transformative power of capital markets we aim to deliver a financial system that is fully aligned with a net-zero, nature-positive economy. Planet Tracker proactively engages with financial institutions to drive change in their investment strategies. We ensure they know exactly what risk is built into their investments and identify opportunities from funding the systems transformations we advocate.
