We found that while the use of these key terms is still limited in a fisheries context, there is potential to increase how well and often they are used. Sustainable fisheries share common objectives with sustainable agriculture, including enhancing ecosystem services, having multi-year management cycles, prioritising long-term productivity and improving livelihoods. They also seek to achieve common outcomes.

For example, no or reduced tillage in agriculture is used to support soil health and carbon sequestration, which in fisheries is similar to the avoidance of bottom trawling to support healthy fish stocks and carbon sequestration of the seabed. Another parallel is maintaining and enhancing biodiversity to support ecosystem services, with benefits for productivity. In agriculture, this is achieved through maintaining or restoring hedgerows or wildflower meadows, providing habitat for pollinating species or natural predators of agricultural pests. In fisheries, restoration of coastal breeding grounds such as mangroves, seagrass and kelp forests can support larvae development and the resilience of fish stocks. 

To illustrate where parallels can or have been drawn between sustainable fisheries and sustainable agriculture, we developed four case studies broadly aligned to each of the four key objectives we identified. Our case study on a Southern Californian fishery highlights a common objective around prioritising long-term productivity over short-term yields. In this example, a 35% reduction in fishing area resulting from Marine Protected Areas designation was compensated for by a 225% increase in total catch after six years. The case study also demonstrates the importance of supporting practitioners on the ground with appropriate financial and technical support to achieve long-term economic gains and ‘buffer’ the transition. This is another commonality between agriculture and fisheries.

Next steps: disseminating the research to leverage progress

Our report had a clear conclusion and recommendation: emphasising parallels between sustainable fisheries and sustainable agriculture provides an excellent opportunity to increase the visibility of fisheries as a key component of sustainable food sourcing and create an additional pathway for systems transformation. Exploiting this will support improved communication between fisheries and agricultural stakeholders, and ultimately a higher profile for fisheries in sustainable food funding and policy conversations.

We used the expertise of our in-house design team to ensure that our final report included visuals that bring the findings to life and that the key elements of the report are summarised in a fully-designed executive summary report. The aim is to use these to engage a wide and diverse set of stakeholders.  

The Walton Family Foundation has now published the report and started to disseminate it to gain traction, using our executive summary at events and conferences to engage with key stakeholders. We have plans to co-host a webinar on the topic in Autumn 2025. 

The report is a starting point for conversations and engagement that ultimately aim to raise awareness of sustainable fisheries as a vital element of sustainable food systems. Already since we produced this report, we have seen evidence of broader uptake and interest in ‘regenerative’ fisheries and there is ample opportunity to contribute to this conversation.