Race to the Top: Ecuador Leads the Way Towards Sustainable and Responsible Aquaculture
SSP
During AquaExpo, held at the Guayaquil Convention Center in Ecuador, the Sustainable Shrimp Partnership (SSP) and the National Chamber of Aquaculture (CNA) hosted for the first time the inaugural edition of the new sustainability forum, Race to the Top.
The event brought together over 300 participants including global leaders and key executives from Ecuador to discuss "how the country's shrimp industry has become a global benchmark for sustainability".
During the presentation, there were 15 talks, panels, and episodes about Ecuador's shrimp industry, focusing on governance, environmental responsibility, economic sustainability, and social responsibility.
"This forum serves as an analogy for the journey we call Race to the Top, shaped by the commitment, discipline, and strategy of our producers. This is the message we want to convey to industry stakeholders and representatives from other sectors joining us today," SSP Director Pamela Nath explained.
Additionally, the executive president of CNA José Antonio Camposano, indicated: "Ecuador has established itself as a global benchmark in the shrimp industry thanks to its commitment to innovation and sustainability, proving that it is possible to lead responsibly."
Finally, Camposano remembered how crucial the collaboration between companies, international organizations, banks, and environmental groups is to achieve a more responsible, balanced, and efficient scenario.
Some of the representatives who attended the forum belonged to the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), BioMar, Biolan, Conservation International (CI), Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI), Inve Aquaculture, MSD Animal Health, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Omarsa, Skretting, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), The Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH), and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
The Sustainable Shrimp Partnership (SSP) is a pre-competitive platform that brings together leading companies committed to transforming the future of shrimp aquaculture.
In March, SSP celebrated its 6 years of trajectory promoting sustainability in global shrimp production. All SSP projects during these years promoted transparency, and environmental and social responsibility, while also ensuring that the shrimp they provide meets the highest standards, the organization expressed through a statement.
The National Chamber of Aquaculture (CNA) is a non-governmental organization that has represented Ecuador's shrimp sector for over 30 years. One of its key goals is to foster knowledge exchange and drive innovation through its AQUAEXPO program, a technical and commercial event held since 1995 across various shrimp-producing provinces in the country.
SSP and the NCA are responsible also for launching SustainED, their new educational program for the sustainable development of the shrimp industry in Ecuador.