Seafood: Ocean Basket partners with Abalobi to ensure sustainable fishing practices

Never waste a crisis they say. When Ocean Basket placed whole seabream on their menu two summers ago, their entire stock was sold out within six weeks.

The success of this strategy to serve a broader range of seafood and introduce South Africans to eating whole fish – a more sustainable and less wasteful way of consumption – took them entirely by surprise.

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Eager to purchase more stock but unable to source any in time for the festive season, Ocean Basket supply chain executive Marco Coelho decided to look to small-scale fishing communities who, he had been ill-advised, were not producing large-enough catches to consider.

And so Coelho stumbled upon a growing, disruptive organisation called Abalobi, which opened up a new world of possibilities.

Community development

Abalobi – meaning fisher in Xhosa – is a South African-based organisation that envisions thriving, equitable, climate change-resilient and sustainable small-scale fishing communities.

Leaving the Western Cape shores in small boats in the early hours and returning with their catch, traditional fishers are left to accept whatever price is offered at the harbour by buyers who often collude to keep fisher returns low.

This means that many fishers are not even able to purchase fuel for the next day’s fishing, or keep a portion of their catch to feed their own families.

But in a growing number of coastal communities, Abalobi is partnering with fishers to co-design and implement technology enabling them to become data owners, build organisational capacity, engage in transparent and traceable supply chains that afford fair market prices, while recognising the critical role of women and addressing food security needs.

These are the same Cape waters where Cape bream, a similar species to seabream, is caught and Ocean Basket quickly committed to a fair price for this fish.

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Since early 2023, the seafood restaurant chain has purchased almost 28 tons of Cape bream caught by these communities using traditional, low-impact handline fishing.

The direct payments to fishing community members amounted to almost R1.5 million, ensuring that fishers, fish cleaners and community-based quality control teams received fair and consistent compensation for their work.

Coelho said he was struck by the fishers’ deep connection to the ocean and their passion for sustainable fishing.

“Our decision to pay a higher, fair price for their catch has enabled these fishers to transition from uncertain, ad hoc sales to a secure, predictable income.”

Providing food security

One of the most significant benefits of Ocean Basket’s collaboration with Abalobi is the improvement in food security for the fishing communities involved. Now, the fishers can consistently go to sea because they have a predictable demand from Ocean Basket.

Abalobi director of growth Chris Kastern said: “Our relationship with Ocean Basket has been instrumental in demonstrating the power of a fair and equitable seafood value chain; it has helped us show that responsible fishing can be both economically viable and ecologically sound.

This partnership demonstrates what can be achieved when businesses prioritise people and the planet alongside profit.”

The collaboration has also made Cape bream, a green-listed species, economically viable for fishers to focus on.

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The Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative colour-codes fish species from red (reason for concern) to orange (think twice before eating) and green (most sustainable and well-managed choices available).

This approach helps conserve marine biodiversity and ensures that fishers can maintain their livelihoods sustainably.

In recent years, the support has extended to 14 skippers’ households, 103 crew households and 20 households of fish cleaners and quality teams.

Currently, 50% of Ocean Basket’s bream comes from Abalobi, with plans to increase this to 80%.

While Cape bream is the primary focus for now, there are plans to expand to other species such as yellowtail.