The oceans of Asia are home to some of the richest and most diverse fisheries in the world. The region also dominates global aquaculture production. Yet, lack of management of Asia’s marine resources, is causing overfishing and habitat destruction from northern China south to Indonesia and beyond.
Overfishing is widespread and a threat to both businesses and seafood-dependent communities.
The Seafood Risk Assessment (SRA) is an open source and affordable approach for Hong-Kong based companies sourcing seafood globally to understand key risk areas through quick risk assessments.
Members of the seafood industry can use these risk assessments to guide sourcing decisions and begin the journey of initiating and supporting improvements with suppliers, source fisheries and farms.
The fish risk assessments are derived from a risk assessment method developed by fisheries and aquaculture experts, specifically for the SE Asia region. Key source locations were assessed based on advice from members of the Hong Kong Sustainable Seafood Coalition.
There is a risk assessment method for both wild fish and farmed fish as the types of risk differ between the two.
The risk assessments are undertaken at a country (or regional) level for a given species, and scored as high, medium, or low risk.
If a source country is flagged as high / medium risk you should exercise extra due diligence when sourcing, meaning asking questions of your supplier. These Supplier Questions are found in each of the risk assessment profiles.
You can use the search feature to find the species of interest or the Fish Assessment Lookup tab in the website page menu.
For some farmed species, there is insufficient publicly available information to undertake an informed risk assessment at a country level. In such cases a general narrative has been provided based on limited information. Going forward, it is envisaged that these information gaps will be addressed in consultation with in-country experts.
If you are a HKSSC member these risk assessments are aligned with the Sourcing Code of Conduct. See the Code of Conduct in English and Traditional Chinese and the Guidance Document in English and Traditional Chinese.
The HKSSC was established in 2018 to advance the sustainable seafood market in Hong Kong, by promoting responsible purchasing and consumption. If you are working in the seafood industry why not consider joining, and work in partnership with other leading Hong Kong seafood businesses to improve the sustainability of marine, fresh water and farmed fish resources in the region?
Join HKSSC
