The Walton Family Foundation (WFF), created by Walmart founders Sam and Helen Walton, announced it is investing $36.6 million over the next five years to fund sustainable seafood endeavors.

The foundation aims to have a positive impact on both the supply and demand sides of the seafood supply chain equation through an overarching, systemic approach with the goal of ending overfishing, improving ocean health, and preserving the livelihoods in Peru, Chile, Mexico, Indonesia, and the U.S.

In the U.S. market, the foundation is seeking to ensure that the sustainability advances made in the country’s seafood sector over the past 20 years remain in place. Funding also will be allocated to initiatives that build sustainability incentives that result in increasing demand in the U.S, Japan, and Spain, which together account for the importation of two thirds of all globally traded seafood products worth more than $3.66 billion per year to the economies of Mexico, Peru, Chile, and Indonesia.

Fishin’ with a Mission

When talking about the fishing industry, sustainability has become the prime goal for both industry players and investors in the sector.

“With nearly 300 certified fisheries and almost every major retailer in the U.S., Canada, and Northern Europe committed to sourcing sustainable seafood, sustainability is quite simply an integral part of running a modern seafood business,” said Teresa Ish, who leads the seafood markets initiative at the WFF.

Only months ago, in April, Cuna del Mar, the investment firm of Christy Walton,  invested $15 million in Boston-based InnovaSea Systems Inc. – developer of an all-inclusive system for open ocean fish farming.

Cuna del Mar’s mission is to shift demand for seafood away from wild-caught populations and conventional fish farming systems to new production methods geared toward open ocean aquaculture that are economically viable while also being environmentally and socially sustainable.

Meanwhile, in February of this year, Zoma Capital, the family investment office of Ben and Lucy Ana Walton, and Encourage Capital announced that the two have partnered to launch Pescador Holdings, the first-of-its-kind sustainable seafood investment holding company.

The launch of the fund, which will be seeded with an initial commitment of $10 million from Zoma Capital,  is the culmination of more than two years of investment research funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Rockefeller Foundation under the Vibrant Oceans Initiative. The initiative is a $53 million, five-year effort that integrates financial strategies that are geared to facilitate the transition to more sustainable fishing, and aims to boost fish populations in Brazil, the Philippines, and Chile.

Toward this common goal, impact investment firm Encourage Capital released Investing for Sustainable Global Fisheries  – an investment framework designed to reclaim economic losses incurred as a result of poor management of fisheries while also restoring ocean ecosystems, lifting the sustainable seafood supply, and improving the standard of living for the poor in seafood-dependent markets.

Although not solely dedicated to seafood, larger funds are also diversifying their portfolios by taking stakes in the supply chain. Only earlier this month, Fishpeople Seafood, a Portland, Oregon-based company driven by the dual goals of providing sustainable and traceable seafood, announced that is had closed a $12 million Series B led by Advantage Capital Agribusiness Partners (ACAP) and including long-term existing investor, 3×5 Partners, along with S2G Ventures, Encourage Capital, Blueberry Ventures, and the Collaborative Fund.

As a certified “B” Corporation, Fishpeople Seafood works with small-scale fishermen who catch only species that are abundantly available in the wild.

“When we heard about Fishpeople, we knew we needed to get involved with this company,” said Tyler Mayoras, principal of ACAP. “The seafood industry is one of the last to see meaningful improvements in product quality or sustainability, so we are excited to work with a group of people that is so dedicated to providing better options and full traceability for consumers.”

-Lynda Kiernan

Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to GAI News. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration, please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.