The Sustainability Incubator is an independent source of forward-shifting work on ocean stewardship.
Founded in 2012 in Honolulu, we work to achieve a significant transformation in business to better serve the lives of people and animals at sea.
Our track record is reflected in the decisions and actions taken recently by clients ASEAN, US seafood industry, Governments of Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Fiji, Freedom Fund and Humanity United, IOM, FAO, GLOBEFISH through projects for ocean stewardship.
Our clients bring ocean stewardship to life by embedding it into policy, strategy, mandates and programs, curricula and training.
Recent Work
- Lowering labor risks at-sea. Regional Fishing Labor Study endorsed by the Association of Southeast Asian Nationa (ASEAN), 2026, providing delegates of its eleven nations with “practical guidance for engagement with the sector to build oversight capacity and improve fisher readiness, with clear recommendations for occupational safety and health (OSH) systems for fishing vessels to reduce accidents”.
- Lowering labor risks at-sea with curricula and training: International Organization for Migration-Training-Manual-for-Fishing-and-Seafood-Enterprises_Thailand, IOM-Training-Manual-for-Fishing-and-Seafood-Enterprises-Indonesia, SAFE-Seas-Training-Manual-for-Port-Inspectors-Philippine, SAFE-Seas-Training-Manual-for-Port-Inspectors_Indonesia. The Philippines training also included a mandate for enhanced inspection at ports that quickly led to the apprehension of human traffickers and rescue of 13 young women.
- Lowering labor risks at-sea with Human Rights Due Diligence: We have trained more than 85 seafood suppliers to detect forced labor in over 500 supply chains and how to prevent it.
- Building ocean stewardship into fishing with Fishery Improvement Projects: We provide the science and secretariat to Fishery Improvement Projects serving more than 30 projects worldwide to reduce the incidental capture and death of animals accidentally caught in fishing gear in the making of tuna, swordfish, crab, scallops, snappers and several other seafoods, and currently supporting SYM PAC International, Fong Hsiang Enterprises and Sprouts Farmers Market.
Science to Adapt as Oceans Change
Our research findings, methods and measures have been highly cited in court and policy decisions and by academics (>2500 citations in peer reviewed journals):
- The Associated Press featured our original research on supermarket shrimp in a major story, As big supermarkets pursue profits, new research shows growing exploitation of shrimp farmers picked up by newspapers worldwide, including the Washington Post, Jakarta Globe, Business Enquirer, Yomiuri Shimbun-The Japan News, NBC, ABC, Fox and CBS News: Shrimp farmers in Asia exploited by U.S. supermarkets for big profits, research finds, SeafoodSource, Undercurrent News and National Public Radio, 28/9/2025. The AP also ran a second article, Takeaways from AP’s report on how shrimp farmers are exploited as supermarkets push for low prices.
- Financial Times UK and Swiss broadcaster RTS featured our original research on tuna, Is tuna ecolabeling causing fishers more harm than good? (published in Nature Ocean Sustainability in Fall 2024). Oceana, Greenpeace, Global Labor Justice and the International Transport Workers’ Federation made press releases.
- US Federal Policy & Court Decisions: 44 citations from our 2011 paper in Marine Policy, Estimates of illegal and unreported fish in seafood imports to the USA).
- Highly Cited in Ocean Policy & Fisheries Policy: Several of our research articles are highly cited in ocean and fisheries policy, including A Practical Take on the Duty to Uphold Rights in the Seafood Workplace, Seeing Slavery in Seafood Supply Chains, Committing to Socially Responsible Seafood, Performance of regional fisheries management organizations: ecosystem‐based governance of bycatch and discards, Improvements to Rapfish: a rapid evaluation technique for fisheries integrating ecological and human dimensions and Sea turtle bycatch to fish catch ratios for differentiating Hawaii longline-caught seafood products.
Featured Research
Contact us at the.sustainability.incubator@gmail.com. Mahalo.