CI Hosts Social Responsibility Assessment of Tuna Fisheries in Samoa

Apia, Samoa – 26 November 2024 – Conservation International (CI) successfully concluded a key workshop on the desk-based review of social responsibility of Samoa’s tuna fishing sector.

The Social Responsibility Assessment (SRA) tool is a human rights due diligence tool which serves to reduce risks of human rights abuse at all stages of seafood production from vessel level (at-sea fishing operation) to the seafood processing sector.

The workshop brought together representatives from the fishing industries, government stakeholders, civil society organizations and technical experts to discuss the findings and the next steps towards improving the social dimensions of the tuna fishery sector.

This follows up from the Pacific Tuna Jurisdictional Approach (JA) project socialization workshop in June 2024 that introduced the Jurisdictional Approach (JA) to Pacific Tuna project to the fishing industry, government stakeholders, civil society organizations and technical experts.

The Pacific Tuna JA seeks to drive holistic environmental, social and economic tuna fishery improvements by aligning incentives between the government, producers, and supply chain companies, using a human rights-based approach to fisheries governance.

This workshop was funded by the Walmart Foundation and marked a continuation of efforts to enhance sustainability, governance, and social responsibility within Samoa’s fisheries.

Key findings from the desk review of SRA highlighted several information gaps within the fisheries sector that could be improved through the application of SRA tool in Samoa. The workshop discussions centered on how to effectively apply the findings and integrate new insights from local participants into the next phase of onsite social responsibility assessment aimed at identifying social improvements for Samoa’s fisheries sector.

Conservation International remains dedicated to advancing the sustainable development of Samoa’s fishing industry, while also supporting the Samoa Ocean Strategy and the 30×30 marine protection initiative, working closely with local stakeholders to implement the recommendations discussed during the workshop.