Fishing

The assessment and disclosure of ocean-related issues is essential to the resilience of marine-based businesses and the health of ocean ecosystems. The ocean realm has distinct features – from its unique ecosystems to transboundary waters and complex governance regimes – requiring a tailored approach to assessment and disclosure.

Ocean-related issues – dependencies and impacts on oceans and the corresponding risks and opportunities to business and finance – are already covered in the TNFD framework. These additional materials respond to strong demand from companies and financial institutions operating in the blue economy for additional support tailored to the specific characteristics of marine ecosystems and ocean-based value chains. The sector guides released today help enable blue economy actors to get started on assessing and reporting on their ocean-related issues in line with the recommendations of the TNFD published in September 2023 and in a manner consistent with leading global standards and industry certification requirements.

Fishing

The fishing guidance has been developed through engagement with over 100 organisations across the fishing and marine aquarium trade value chains. It offers practical steps to identify, assess and manage nature-related issues such as dependencies on healthy fish populations and exposure to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The guidance builds on existing industry certification schemes and is also aligned with the Science Based Targets Network’s ocean targets for seafood.

In response to market feedback to enable TNFD-aligned reporting that leverages existing disclosures activities, the TNFD has co-developed an interoperability table with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). This enables organisations with MSC-certified fisheries to report against TNFD metrics efficiently and ensures comparable information to investors and other stakeholders building on metrics and data already widely in use. Organisations may also refer to publicly available data from management authorities and other certification standards that are compliant with ISEAL and are recognised by the GSSI Benchmark Tool, having met the GSSI supplementary clauses.