Advocacy Tools for the Seafood Industry
The seafood industry can act as a powerful catalyst for policy change, given their first-hand knowledge of the complexities of global supply chains. Incorporating an industry perspective for more inclusive regulatory processes can ensure that policies and governance reform are ambitious yet achievable. And understanding the experiences of those impacted by policy can lead to better decision-making and help governments develop an accurate understanding of stakeholder’s needs. Inclusive stakeholder engagement can also proactively identify solutions, and support transparency in the regulatory process, creating trust and buy-in between all parties.
To facilitate this bridge between market and government actors, there are a number of tools that can be used to initiate effective dialogue between stakeholders, including but not limited to:
- Joint sign-on letters
- Individual advocacy letters (including public comments)
- In-person or virtual meetings (individual, or group)
- Roundtable dialogues
- Workshops
- Testimonies
- Webinars
- Op-Eds
These tools provide various ways for the industry to communicate its perspectives, share experiences, and influence the development of policies.
Mechanisms for Advocacy
Policy advocacy is inherently collaborative, requiring the cooperation of multiple stakeholders, including the seafood industry, NGOs, government agencies, and even local communities. Effective advocacy often involves building partnerships that bridge diverse interests – from conservation efforts to economic considerations – ensuring that policies are balanced and inclusive. As such, there are a number of mechanisms/avenues by which advocacy can take place:
Forming or joining industry groups can create a collective voice that can more effectively influence policy decisions as well as create a space for unifying around common goals and consistent messaging
Participation in forums, workshops, working groups, and can bring together otherwise disparate groups to foster dialogue, build consensus, and ensure voices of all impacted parties are considered when discussing and developing policy recommendations
Initiatives to inform and educate stakeholders (including policymakers) about the need for robust, well-enforced seafood regulations can build public support, which, in turn, can drive policy change
Partnering with other industry and NGO stakeholders can support a pooling of resources, sharing of knowledge, and amplification of each other’s advocacy efforts as well as bridge potential gaps between different sectors in order to more effectively push for comprehensive governance reform
Investing in and disseminating research, papers, articles, or other public material that highlights the benefits of specific regulations or even a company’s experiences complying with seafood policies can be a powerful tool in persuading policymakers and regulators
Choosing the Right Advocacy Strategy
While advocacy will look different for each stakeholder and vary by topic. Some of the factors to consider when pairing an issue or topic with an advocacy strategy include:
- The complexity of a topic or issue, regulation, or issue at hand
- Representativeness (or lack thereof) of stakeholder perspectives
- The amount of effort it would take to produce or engage in a particular method of advocacy (i.e., its cost in time, effort, and political capital)
- The level of consideration a particular method of advocacy would garner from policy implementors, policymakers, and administrators (i.e., its expected impact)
- Past experiences engaging particular agencies or lessons learned taken from parallel efforts, initiatives, or formal/informal dialogues
As the seafood industry will always play a critical role in shaping policy, it is important for stakeholders to regularly and proactively engage in advocacy efforts. By leveraging the tools, mechanisms, and strategies discussed above, industry players can help ensure that their voices are heard and that policies are both effective and equitable.