Results of the Third Survey of Procured Marine Resources Sustainability by the Nissui Group

2024/10/08

Nissui Corporation (President and CEO Shingo Hamada, Minato-ku, Tokyo) has published the results of a third-party analysis and evaluation regarding marine resources handled by Nissui and 36 Nissui Group companies in 2022. The results are summarized below.

While the survey revealed that procurement of sustainable marine resources is progressing, there are some marine resources that cannot be evaluated for lack of data or a management framework, and others that need improvement. The Group will establish an order of precedence and take action on each issue in succession.

The Nissui Group operates its business with the bounty of the sea, and the status of the marine resources the Group handles has a vital impact on the medium- to long-term risks and opportunities affecting its operations. Therefore, Nissui conducts survey on a regular basis to determine the status of marine resources handled and identify issues that need to be addressed, so the Group can build an effective system for procurement of sustainable marine resources.
This survey is the Group's third Survey on the Status of Marine Resources Handled by the Nissui Group. The survey follows the first survey published in 2018 covering 2016 and the second survey published in 2021 covering 2019.

■ Results of Third Survey
The survey focused on natural and processed marine products. As in the second survey, the survey used data and analysis from a third-party organization to maintain objectivity, and analysis and evaluation were carried out using the methods defined by ODP(*1) based on FishSource(*2), the SFP(*3) database on marine resources.
*1　　ODP: Ocean Disclosure Project. The SFP began operating this online reporting platform in 2015 to provide independent disclosure on the procurement of marine resources.
*2　　FishSource: This database of global marine resources was established by the SFP in 2007. The database managers conduct scientific analysis of publicly available information to provide information on the status of marine resources by species and on fisheries management.
*3　　SFP: Sustainable Fisheries Partnership. Established in 2006, this US-based NGO promotes the improvement of fisheries through their supply chains.

[Overview of Survey]
□ Surveyed companies: 37 companies of the Nissui Group (Nissui, 16 in Japan, 20 overseas).
□ Period covered: For the year 2022
□ Marine products covered: Natural and processed marine products (except seaweeds) procured from Nissui Group fisheries and from outside parties by Group companies handling products equal to or greater than ¥10 million or US$100,000 a year in value. The value of processed marine products, including fish oils and fishmeal for formula feed, is calculated based on raw fish equivalent.

[Survey Results]
(1) Overview of natural marine resources handled by the Nissui Group (Figures in ( ) are results from the previous survey.)
1) Total weight handled: 2.76 million tonnes (2.71 million tonnes) in raw-fish equivalent weight
2) Number of fish species: 304 (269)
3) Fishing areas: 18 locations (21 locations) in FAO(*4) major fishing areas

*4　　FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

(2) Status of marine resources handled by the Nissui Group in 2022

1) Of marine products handled by the entire Group in 2022, 83% were procured from fisheries with management frameworks in place, and 75% were from correctly maintained and managed (in a state of being "Well Managed" or "Managed").
・The figure of 75% for the marine products from fisheries with correctly maintained and managed constitutes an increase from 71% in the previous survey.
In the breakdown of these figures, 35% of resources were "Well Managed," 17 points up from 18% in the previous survey, while 40% of resources were listed as "Managed," down 13 points from 53% in the previous survey.
・A total of 8% of products were procured from fisheries with management frameworks in place but were "Needs Improvement." This figure was unchanged from the previous survey.
・Some 17% of products were from fisheries "Profile not yet Complete," meaning that could not be scored and therefore not assessed; this figure marked a decline of 4 points from 21% in the previous survey.
2) Of fish species handled, the top three by volume were Alaska pollock, anchoveta (Peruvian anchovy) and Japanese sardine, which constituted 54% of volume handled. These resources had a management framework and ensured sustainability, but fish species below the top three included some for which a management framework was nonexistent or insufficient.
3) Of total volume handled, 85% was procured from outside the Group. The remaining 15% was caught by Nissui Group fisheries.
Most of this volume was "Well Managed," but many resources procured from outside parties were "Needs Improvement" or "Profile not yet Complete." The cooperation of these suppliers to address this issue will be essential going forward.
4) The survey reveals that 13 species handled by the Group include species listed as CR, EN or VU(*5) on the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This figure is down from 16 species on the previous survey.
5) Products from fisheries certified by the MSC(*6) amounted to 800,000 tonnes or 29% of the total, representing an increase of 4 points from 25%, comprising 770,000 tonnes, in the previous survey. The number of fish species was 72, which was 17 higher than the 55 in the previous survey.

*5　　CR, EN, VU: CR(critically endangered), EN(endangered), VU(vulnerable).
*6　　MSC: Marine Stewardship Council. A UK-based organization that manages a marine-product eco-label certification program.

(3) Future Approaches
1) The Nissui Group will prioritize fish species whose resource status is difficult to determine (particularly those used to make fishmeal, fish oils and surimi), through measures such as participation in round-table discussions and FIPs(*7).
2) The Group will work to identify the resources used in products for which catch information is hard to obtain, for example by working with suppliers to establish traceability.
3) The Group will examine methods of evaluation for use in determining human-rights violation risk for procured resources.

*7　　FIP: Fishery Improvement Project. Any project to improve international fisheries by enhancing their sustainability, through cooperation among fishing operators, companies, distributors, NGOs and others.

■ Reference: Overview of the Results of the Second Survey
The Second Survey built on the results of the First Survey, broadening the scope of the survey to include fish oils and fishmeal. Data used for evaluation were updated and the analytical method was changed to secure objectivity.
The majority (71%) of the 2.71 million tonnes of natural marine products handled in 2019 was correctly maintained and managed ("Well Managed" or "Managed"). However, 8% of these products were "Needs Improvement" and 21% were "Not Scored" (impossible to evaluate for lack of data).
In response to the above results, the Group implemented and is continuing to carry out the following actions.
1) With an aim to address fisheries where a management framework is nonexistent or insufficient, in July 2022 the Group took part in the Global Roundtable on Marine Ingredients.
2) The Group established the Nissui Group Endangered Species (Marine Products) Procurement Policy(*8) in November 2022.
3) Where options are available, the Group switched procurement to fisheries certified by MSC.
4) In Nissui Group fisheries, the Group strove to acquire MSC fisheries certification. In February 2024, Kyowa Fishery Co., Ltd. obtained MSC certification for its purse seine fisheries in the Western Central Pacific Ocean for skipjack and yellowfin tuna.
5) The Group implemented a field study of white- and pink-shrimp farmers in Vietnam and conducted evaluation from a social-scientific perspective.
To evaluate the sustainability of so-called "extensive" shrimp farming in downstream reaches of the Mekong River in Vietnam, in 2022-23 the Group commissioned a field study of over 200 shrimp-farming households in two districts of Cà Mau Province. The project was commissioned to Professor Akiko Ikeguchi of Yokohama National University, who partnered with a local university to carry out the study.
6) The Group carried out genetic analysis of lizardfish, golden threadfin bream and largehead hairtail sourced from India and Southeast Asia for use in surimi, confirming the identity of the species.
In this way the Group confirmed that, because the species in question had large numbers of subspecies, in many cases the species in the survey database did not match the actual species procured. This exercise reinforced for the Group the importance of identifying resource species correctly to evaluate sustainability.

*8　　Nissui Group Endangered Species (Marine Products) Procurement Policy (established in November 2022)

● A detailed results can be found here.
　https://nissui.disclosure.site/assets/pdf/212/2022_3rd_survey_en.pdf