The GMC Project: Our Model and Early Results

The Global Sustainable Supply Chains for Marine Commodities (GMC) Project is a Global Environment Facility (GEF)-funded interregional initiative implemented by the Ministries and Bureaus of Fisheries, Production and Planning of Costa Rica, Ecuador, Indonesia and Philippines, with technical support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and facilitated by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP).

The GMC Project contributes to the transformation of international seafood markets by mainstreaming sustainability in seafood supply chains originating in developing countries. The project harnesses the power of emerging market-based tools such as seafood ecolabelling programs, international retailer corporate purchasing policies, Sustainable Marine Commodity Platforms (SMCPs), and Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) to, together, integrate sustainability in fishery management and supply chain operations.

The project develops the capacities of national regulatory authorities to more effectively manage priority fisheries and it will generate lessons learned to be shared worldwide with fisheries management practitioners.

The project’s principal objective is to mainstream sustainability into seafood supply chains by employing market mechanisms and tools, and by facilitating multi-stakeholder dialogue to craft science-based and consensus-driven policies.