At the Economist Impact Investing Summit, Investment funds Zoma Capital and Encourage Capital announced the launch of the first-ever sustainable seafood investment holding company, called Pescador Holdings.

Oceans, seas and coastal areas provide mankind with manifold goods and ecosystem services fundamental to human well-being, global food security and nutrition. They form an integrated and essential component of the Earth’s ecosystem and are critical to sustainable development.

Fisheries and aquaculture offer ample opportunities to reduce hunger and improve nutrition, alleviate poverty, generate economic growth and ensure better use of natural resources.

In the Philippines, the Tagbanua people have traditionally employed fishing practices that simultaneously harvest and maintain fish populations. They continue to follow these practices today. Tagbanuas fish for specific species only during certain times of the year, determined by tides and the moon, allowing fish stocks to replenish themselves. They set aside certain areas, such as coral reefs, as protected spots in which fishing is prohibited. When they do fish, these traditional fishers primarily use hook-and-line methods, catching only what they need to feed themselves and their communities. A 2007 study lauded traditional Tagbanua practices as a way to prevent injury and death to local Irrawaddy dolphins, which become entangled in more modern fishing gear like nets and traps.

Canada’s model for the sustainable management of Canadian fisheries cover the following five key areas