Here at Green Is The New Black, we sometimes ask the age-old question: Can fishing ever be sustainable? And between us, it’s an insanely difficult question to answer straightforwardly. But Christine Hebert, the founder of Blue Lobster, shares her thoughts on the future of fishing.
Admit it, it’s not every day your mind wanders into the realm of creating an app to assist fishermen. Christine Hebert can attest to that sentiment. The genesis of Blue Lobster wasn’t an instantaneous revelation for her. Having spent several summers in Maine, she cultivated a deep appreciation for fish culture. The concept of Blue Lobster started to take shape towards the close of 2018, and with the dawn of 2020, Christine and her co-founder enthusiastically embarked on turning their idea into reality, kicking off the groundwork towards the end of 2019.
What is Blue Lobster?
If you’ve never heard of Blue Lobster, it’s really not your regular app, but in a good, impactful way. Christine’s experiences in Denmark and Maine were instrumental in the development of Blue Lobster platform.
In Denmark, she found that the fish in grocery stores did not meet her expectations in terms of variety and freshness. This led her to explore the fish supply chain and realise the lack of transparency in the industry. Her childhood experiences in Maine, where she purchased lobster directly from fishermen, also influenced her vision for Blue Lobster. The childhood memory of buying lobster directly from fishermen and witnessing unique, rare lobsters at the docks stuck with her, inspiring the idea of connecting customers directly with low-impact fishermen.
The app uses modern technology to make fishing more sustainable in several ways. Firstly, it connects low-impact fishermen with potential customers, creating a more direct supply chain where fishermen are fairly paid. The platform automatically reports every fish passing through it into the quota counting system, providing real-time data on the amount of fish being pulled out, which helps in managing sustainable fishing practices. Additionally, the platform limits which fishermen can join based on the equipment they use, specifically low-impact fishing gear that doesn’t damage the ocean.
This ensures that only sustainable practices are supported. Furthermore, the platform could potentially address issues such as reducing bycatch and supporting initiatives to collect fishing nets in the ocean in the future. Overall, Blue Lobster’s platform promotes sustainable fishing practices, fair compensation for fishermen, and transparency in the seafood supply chain.
“They’re not focusing enough on fishing methods”
“When they are making videos about sustainability within fishing, it’s about not leaving plastic in the ocean or fishing nets in the ocean, which obviously is a big thing, but equally as big a thing as making sure that we’re fishing in the right way.” Christine explains to Sean Lee-Davies how she feels about what the United Nations is doing during their interview on Episode 14 of Our Future Nature Podcast.
When it comes to ocean conservation, Christine emphasises the need for sustainable fishing practices and education. She explains that monitoring fish populations, addressing under-reporting in the fishing industry, and promoting sustainable fishing methods are key components when it comes to making sure that the fishing industry is moving in a fair and sustainable way.
Christine also highlights the economic benefits for fishermen of adopting sustainable practices, such as earning more by fishing sustainably and generating more jobs in small rural fishing communities. “I think the thing that speaks the most to the fishermen is the economic benefit,” she adds. “Catch less fish to earn the same amount of money. And I think it generates more jobs by having smaller, sustainable vessels going out, compared to these big boats.”
Believe it or not, there are more jobs when it comes to sustainable fishing. “There are more jobs, and I think it can really help small rural fishing communities when we go into them to give them autonomy over their sales and provide them with access to more buyers.” Christine explains how they market their app to communities, stating that it is mostly the economic aspect that hooks fishermen rather than the sustainability portion.
Explain like I’m 5, why should fishing be sustainable and have a fair supply chain?
You may think this is a really simple question that just requires basic common sense. But! Like everything else, especially in the eco world, there is more to it than meets the eye. Fishing, being more sustainable, and having a fair supply chain are important for several reasons. Firstly, it helps in reducing the environmental impact of commercial fishing, ensuring that fish are caught sustainably, legally, and with low-impact methods. This contributes to the preservation of marine ecosystems and biodiversity. Additionally, a fair supply chain helps create more equitable economic opportunities for fishermen, allowing them to earn more by fishing sustainably. And, as previously mentioned, it also generates more jobs, particularly in small rural fishing communities, and provides them with autonomy over their sales and access to more buyers.
Overall, shifting to a more sustainable and fair global fishing model not only benefits the environment but also has positive social and economic impacts on fishing communities.
So, can fishing ever be sustainable?
The short answer is, yes, it is possible for fishing to become more sustainable. “The shift is basically having more small boats and fewer big industrial boats,” Christine explains. “I think there’s also something that’s kind of not really tangible about connecting to nature, and fish are the last food source that we’re hunting for our global food intake. We’re not doing it with anything else.”
Additionally, despite facing challenges such as pushback from traditional industry practices and the need for consumer education, efforts to promote sustainable fishing, such as using technology to track fish sources and integrating sustainable practices into fishing industries, are steps in the right direction, which Blue Lobster addresses.
But will the fishing industry ever be fully sustainable? That’s something time can only tell.
By the way….
If this piqued your interest, we’re more than happy to let you know that Christine Hebert dives even deeper into discussing the future of fishing in Episode 14 of the Our Future Nature Podcast, hosted by Sean Lee-Davies. Listen to the full episode on Spotify for Christine’s the fishing industry and more.
FEATURED IMAGE courtesy of Christine Hebert