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We prepare rigorous economic and environmental planning on critical matters of land and water.

Founded in 2012 and based in Honolulu, the Sustainability Incubator is a trusted and independent source of forward-shifting land and water use decisions. It’s reflected in the decisions and actions taken by our recent clients: ASEAN, US seafood industry, governments of Indonesia, the Philippines and Fiji, Freedom Fund and Humanity United, IOM, FAO, GLOBEFISH and the Hawaii Seafood Council.

We believe that land and water use decisions form the backbone of a society. We bring value, durability, unity and momentum.

Building Respect for Ocean Food & People

Fishery Improvement Projects

Since its founding in 2012, the Sustainability Incubator has been the industry leader in Fishery Improvement Projects, where seafood suppliers invest in fisheries sustainability as part of a sales access agreement with supermarkets. We have supported fishing companies implement over 30 projects worldwide since for tuna, swordfish, crab, scallops, snappers and other seafoods. Our clients currently are SYM PAC International, Fong Hsiang Enterprises and Sprouts Farmers Market. We’re known for pragmatic arrangements backed by industry and community strength.

Ocean Policy

In late 2024 and 2025, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) released Guidelines on the Placement and Protection of Migrant Fishers and completed a major review of its 11 members’ fishing law and policy concerning labor at sea. We edited the guidelines, prepared the review from primary research with every member’s labor, OSH and fishing authorities, labor and industry organizations, and set out a practical pathway for ocean policy to adapt.

Looking Closer at Supermarket Shrimp & Tuna — Post-Pandemic

How are shrimp and tuna being made today – the two seafoods we eat most? In 2023 and 2024, we looked at the whole picture and its smallest details to understand who is winning and losing on the post-pandemic price chaos, when consumer prices started skyrocketing while producer prices went into free-fall, starting in mid-2022. What explained the large and growing price gap? Demand had recovered, oversupplies had been consumed, so why weren’t prices following economic rules?

Supermarket Shrimp: Results & Press

To understand the picture for shrimp, we collected prices, costs, earnings and interviews from over 500 shrimp producers and workers across Asia by partnering with Viet Nam, Indonesia and India organizations. We tracked supermarket shrimp imports.

When More Means LessDownload

Press

Laboring for lessDownload

The Viet Nam report initiated a dialogue with the government of Viet Nam that led to the addition of new information provided by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP). The report was updated on September 12, 2024.

Questions about the shrimp reports? Please contact us at The.Sustainability.Incubator@gmail.com.

Supermarket Tuna: Results & Press

To understand how tuna today, we looked at what their ecolabel, the Marine Stewardship Council, said about how its being made and compared that to the information actually available to the ecolabel. All major supermarkets repeat what the ecolabel says about tuna to us, the eaters, and to governments to influence policy.

Is tuna ecolabeling causing fishers more harm than good?

Published by Nature Ocean Sustainability

Press

The article, database and footnotes can be found here and here.

Questions about this report? Please contact us at The.Sustainability.Incubator@gmail.com.

Adapting Policy & Adding Capacity

Together with governments, industry and civil society organizations we prepared, piloted, set into policy and implemented decent work in fishing.

They include 6 experiential training packages for industry in Thailand’s and Indonesia’s fisheries, aquaculture and seafood processing sectors.

IOM-Training-Manual-for-Fishing-and-Seafood-Enterprises_Thailand-FinalDownload

IOM-Training-Manual-for-Fishing-and-Seafood-Enterprises-Indonesia-FinalDownload

We produced experiential and interdisciplinary training, coordination and referral packages for Manado, Bitung and Tegal ports in Indonesia and General Santos City, the Philippines that were implemented jointly and taken up into mandate by labor, fisheries, Coast Guard, health and safety and the courts. Very quickly, the General Santos coordination tree was used to apprehend traffickers and rescue 13 young female victims at the airport.

SAFE-Seas-Training-Manual-for-Port-Inspectors_PhilippinesDownload

SAFE-Seas-Training-Manual-for-Port-Inspectors_IndonesiaDownload

Through research and engagement including workshops in Brussels and Shanghai we authored the Social Responsibility Guidelines for the Fisheries and Aquaculture sectors for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization for reference and use worldwide.

We tracked supply chain and risks to prepare Estimates of illegal and unreported fish in seafood imports to the USA and the work was cited by a US Presidential Task Force, NOAA, and by federal court as strong evidence for a policy shift, leading to the US Seafood Imports Monitoring Program.

Contact us at the.sustainability.incubator@gmail.com. Mahalo.