A project led by Walmart and a development agency of the United States seeks to promote sustainable fishing in El Salvador through a model that emphasizes the improvement of fishing and marketing practices.
The Walmart chains of Mexico and Central America, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Association of Fishermen of Playa El Cuco (Aspescu) signed the ‘Convention for Promoting Good Sustainable Production and Marketing Practices of Fishery Products’ in the coastal marine region of El Salvador.
The giant retail intends to implement a marketing model of quality fishery products, caught under the best practices to reduce the gap between artisanal fishermen and the final consumer, with the support of the USAID Regional Programme for Aquatic Resources Management and Economic Alternatives.
The agreement, set in the Corporate Social Responsibility Programme of Walmart, intends to directly benefit 84 fishermen and their families.
The proponents of the agreement want to generate employment opportunities and contribute to improve the income of more than 300 people in two communities in the departments of San Miguel and La Union.
“With this project, Walmart is improving the way of fishing in El Salvador,” states Claudia Ibañez, manager of corporate affairs for Walmart in Mexico and Central America.
“Soon, El Salvador will not only be able to have local fishery products coming from facilities that have permits under the law but also from serious fishermen who go further and meet international quality standards and food safety as significant requirement to be Walmart suppliers,” the executive added.
“Agreements like this encourage the development and sustainable growth of our suppliers, and improve fishing conditions and economic growth in the area. It is in this way that Walmart makes a difference, while ensuring a greater supply to their stores with quality, environmentally and socially responsible fish products,” she pointed out according to Estrategia & Negocios.
For the implementation of this initiative about USD 100,000 were invested: 41 per cent was contributed by Walmart, 33 per cent by USAID, and 26 per cent by Aspescu.
The proponents of the initiative will seek to implement the necessary mechanisms so that the fishery products from Playa El Cuco have optimal conditions to be marketed under the concept of Responsible Consumption of Seafood.
The project includes, among other aspects:
Improving fishing practices under the best practices: provision of legal nets for responsible fisheries;
Training, infrastructure and equipment that are necessary to comply with good manufacturing practices (GMP), especially in fish processing and packaging;
Improvements in cost control, increasing profit margins and obtaining financing;
Promotional campaigns for responsible fish consumption in Walmart’s showrooms alongside its partners of Aspescu;
Proof of delivery of products to Walmart through suppliers and regular and direct deliveries by Aspescu.
Carlos Soto, Meat Division Manager in El Salvador and Honduras for Walmart from Mexico and Central America, emphasized the need to “work together with USAID and Aspescu on GMP issues and processing and generation of value added (filleting, packaging, branding) so that the association is able to improve in areas of fishery product quality and safety.”
Meanwhile, Oscar Mauricio Cordova, president and legal representative of Aspescu, said: “This agreement is an excellent opportunity” that USAID and Walmart offer to market fishery products from the area caught under the best fishing practices while improving in quality.
Finally, Carl Seagrave, director of the Office of Strategic Development of USAID, described this joint effort as “an effective model for generating incentives from the market to promote a more sustainable use of coastal and marine resources in the region and also help organized groups of fishermen for them to enhance their business and improve their income.”
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