The Fisheries Transparency Initiative 10th Anniversary: Its Story and Learnings
The world is experiencing a period in which reactionary forces are pushing back against progress more forcefully than at any time since the Second World War. At the same time, many people worldwide continue to share principles essential to humanity’s future and the protection of the planet, including democratic governance, respect for human rights, environmental protection, and economic and social conditions that allow people to flourish. Advancing these goals requires conviction and sustained effort. Addressing complex challenges depends on learning and iteration, collaboration, dedication, and resilience. Effective responses rely on innovative approaches, cooperation, and adaptation to local contexts, and take time to produce lasting results.
For these reasons, and as my six-year term as Chair of the FiTI International Board concludes at the end of this year, I believe it would be useful to share the history of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative’s creation and development over the past decade, along with insights demonstrating that participatory governance grounded in transparent information is not only a sound investment but also indispensable to securing human prosperity while protecting the planet.
The development of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative unfolded in stages, each one necessary to build a serious and credible institution. This process began in July 2015, when a group of people representing government, industry, and civil society voluntarily committed their time and expertise to explore how fisheries transparency could be advanced. Under Peter Eigen‘s leadership, their work was driven by a shared recognition that fisheries governance suffered from significant information gaps, despite the sector’s economic, social, and food-security importance. Opaque access agreements, limited public data, and weak accountability and participation mechanisms were widely seen as barriers to sustainable management, equitable benefit-sharing, and public trust, and as contributors to overfishing and illegal fishing. From the outset, transparency was framed as a practical tool to address destructive practices that undermine marine ecosystems and national development strategies.
Early discussions focused on the value of publicly available, credible, and comparable fisheries information to support better management and enforcement, expose harmful practices, and encourage more responsible behavior by public authorities and private operators. Drawing on lessons from other sectors, particularly the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, participants agreed that fisheries transparency must be built as a multi-stakeholder process grounded in dialogue, participation, and accountability. It also became clear that transparency in fisheries could not rely on isolated or discretionary disclosures alone. Without a shared framework, information remained fragmented and inconsistent, limiting comparability across countries and undermining sustained progress.
An international standard was therefore required to define what information public authorities should publish, how it should be made accessible, and how transparency could be institutionalized over time. In addition, the Standard was designed to define the process countries must follow to implement the FiTI, how they are assessed and declared compliant, and how they maintain that status, ensuring that all participating countries are treated consistently and equitably under the Initiative’s governance framework.
The FiTI Standard was formally adopted in April 2017 at the 2nd International Conference of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative in Bali, Indonesia. The following years were devoted to testing the Standard, recruiting the first countries, and laying the foundations for a globally operating non-profit organization, marking the transition from a collectively developed idea to an operational global framework. During this period, the FiTI operated as a project within a European non-profit organization, with Sven Biermann leading the International Secretariat and Peter Eigen serving as the first Chair of the FiTI International Board. As the Initiative moved toward incorporation, I was recruited to serve as the 2nd Chair of the Board to help lead that process.
When the FiTI was incorporated in January 2020 in Seychelles, as the world was shutting down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a strategic decision was made to structure the organization as a lean, nimble entity with minimal administrative overhead. Working closely with the FiTI Board and with a highly committed team in the International Secretariat, I helped steer the organization toward an online-first model, with a single office in Seychelles and a largely remote workforce. Staff were recruited for their technical expertise, political awareness, and capacity to work independently across contexts. This approach proved resilient amid global disruption and a tightening funding environment, enabling the FiTI to expand steadily across three continents. As of today, thirteen countries are engaged with the FiTI at different stages (committed, implementing, and compliant), and an additional twenty or so are in discussions with the FiTI at various stages.
The countries that have joined the FiTI want to increase transparency as a means to achieve concrete outcomes: more sustainable management of marine fisheries based on reliable public information; stronger economic performance and long-term viability of the sector by reducing inefficiencies, illegal practices, and policy uncertainty; greater coherence across fisheries, environmental, social, and economic policies; improved coordination among government agencies through shared and consistent data; increased public trust in fisheries governance; a more equitable distribution of benefits from fisheries, particularly for coastal and fishing communities; more inclusive and informed stakeholder participation; and stronger accountability and oversight of fisheries policies and results.
After six years of formal incorporation, these objectives are beginning to translate into concrete results. Governments have released unprecedented amounts of fisheries data in formats that allow interested parties to understand and use them. In each implementing country, national multi-stakeholder groups bring together relevant government agencies, representatives of large- and small-scale fishing sectors, and social organizations working on conservation, sustainable resource use, governance, and related issues. In several countries, these groups represent the first formal space for participatory governance in the fisheries sector. The implementation of the FiTI Standard is contributing to sustainable and equitable marine fisheries through data-driven and transparent management; promoting evidence-based and inclusive governance to safeguard marine ecosystems; elevating the fisheries sector’s visibility by highlighting its economic, social, and environmental contributions; stimulating market-based incentives to enhance socioeconomic impact; and strengthening the effectiveness and public reputation of national fisheries management institutions.
The impact of the FiTI Standard is visible in concrete country experiences. Mauritania has made notable progress in improving transparency in the fisheries sector, particularly through the increased publication of detailed information on fishing licenses, access agreements, revenue flows, and sector regulations in recent years. Additionally, Mauritania’s National Multi-Stakeholder Group is the first of its kind. Disclosure of information is increasingly having a positive impact on decision-making. It has been reported that information disclosed in annual FiTI Reports enabled the Ministry of Fisheries, Maritime and Port Infrastructure to assess the proportion of catches reserved for national consumption as low, and to issue decrees regulating fishmeal production and sea trips by vessels targeting small pelagics. Mauritanian authorities have also noted that international organizations, including the FAO, now rely directly on the national FiTI platform to access fisheries information. These transparency efforts have received external recognition, notably from the IMF, which has highlighted Mauritania’s early adoption of the FiTI, the significant increase in the volume of published fisheries information, and the country’s leadership in submitting the first FiTI Report.
In Ecuador, the implementation of the FiTI Standard has increased transparency by making previously unpublished fisheries information publicly available, thereby expanding the amount of fisheries data, especially related to landings. In addition, the FiTI has established a permanent multi-stakeholder dialogue that brings together public authorities, the fishing industry (large and small scale), and civil society, including coordination between continental and Galapagos fisheries authorities and stakeholders within a single, legally backed forum, confirming that implementing the FiTI is a government-wide commitment. Furthermore, such commitment has been included in the second Open Government Partnership’s Action Plan and reaffirmed in the third. Notably, the FiTI process has enabled Ecuador to secure financing and technical support from the World Trade Organization through the WTO Fish Fund to implement a project supporting the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. In Ecuador, greater information transparency is attracting the attention of foreign investors, who can assess financial feasibility more effectively.
In Seychelles, the FiTI has been instrumental in several areas. There has been a continuous increase in the volume and quality of information available on official websites and in publications. This now includes the public disclosure of all access agreements, catch-per-subsector data, and revenue. The executive arm of government in fisheries, the Seychelles Fisheries Authority (SFA), has established an internal FiTI Committee, which meets regularly to review and publish information in accordance with the FiTI Standard, thereby improving transparency and ensuring updates to publicly available fisheries information. The active participation of members of the National Multi-Stakeholder Group demonstrates genuine engagement in transparency and dialogue. These developments indicate that transparency in fisheries management is becoming progressively institutionalized within Seychelles’ governance framework, moving beyond compliance with FiTI requirements toward practices that support informed decision-making, public accountability, and stakeholder participation. These transparency efforts have enhanced Seychelles’ international reputation for good governance, as reflected in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index. In addition, the public is better informed about fisheries-related issues and can trust the government and engage more effectively with it.
The FiTI continues to evolve. In December 2025, the FiTI Board approved an updated version of the FiTI Standard, introducing revised transparency requirements, a streamlined process for joining and maintaining compliance, and improved structure and clarity. In early 2026, the FiTI will launch an online Fisheries Information System (FIS) to support countries in making fisheries information accessible to the public in line with the Standard, while ensuring governments retain ownership and control of their data.
These developments mark an important moment in the Initiative’s trajectory. They reflect lessons accumulated over a decade of implementation, dialogue, and institutional learning across very different national contexts. As the FiTI enters this next phase, the experience gained to date offers insights not only into how transparency can be operationalized in fisheries governance, but also into the conditions under which it can meaningfully support better management, accountability, and participation. It is against this background that the following reflections should be understood.
Transparency in fisheries is more critical than ever. In many countries, the fisheries sector remains essential for providing food and employment and makes a significant contribution to national economies. It is also central to cultures and communities, not only for those engaged in commercial fishing but for millions of people who rely on fishing for subsistence. Yet unsustainable fishing practices remain widespread. In many contexts, the allocation of fishing access rights creates inequities, while access to affordable, high-quality fish is uneven, limiting the sector’s contribution to food security. These challenges are further intensified by climate change, marine habitat degradation, and pollution. Transparency provides the technical foundation for effective management by supporting informed decision-making, coordination across institutions, and preventive action. It enables governments and stakeholders to understand trade-offs, align responses, and address emerging problems before they become irreversible.
Transparency must be emphasized as a preventive measure to ensure sustainability. When the fish is out of the water, no number of sanctions can change that. Transparency, therefore, needs to be embedded across three types of government activity that rely on data collection, organization, and sharing: the governance and management of the fishing sector, the enforcement of policies and regulations, and the sanctioning of violations. The first should be prioritized, as effective organization and management are central to preventing both legal and illegal overfishing. Enforcement is essential to ensure that rules do not remain only “on paper,” while sanctioning—reflecting my personal view—should focus on “frying the big fish.”
If efforts and investments are overwhelmingly directed toward identifying and sanctioning transgressors, sustainability will not be achieved. The bulk of the effort must instead be placed on understanding the state of fish stocks through sound assessments; assigning scientifically determined quotas and permits, including in foreign fishing agreements; authorizing fishing methods and gear that prevent damage to species and ecosystems; and preventing overfishing and illegal fishing through effective monitoring, control, and surveillance (MCS). Evidence from fisheries science, technical studies, and governance analyses supports the conclusion that a preventive, transparency-based approach delivers better sustainability outcomes.
Transparency, as a tool for participation and to improve people’s lives, is a collective effort. Governments bear the primary responsibility for ensuring transparency in fisheries, but transparency can translate into better policies and tangible improvements only if others are actively engaged. This is why the FiTI requires the establishment of a national multi-stakeholder group, creating a structured space in which government, industry, and civil society can jointly review information, build trust, and contribute to oversight. Beyond this formal mechanism, other actors in society, including the media and the public, must also assume responsibility by making serious use of disclosed data to engage, question decisions, and support better fisheries governance. The FiTI provides the enabling framework, but meaningful impact depends on local participation and collective action.
I hope this article contributes to a clearer understanding of some of the aspects required to advance transparency and participatory governance in complex, politically sensitive policy areas. The experience of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative shows that progress depends on patience, trust, and sustained commitment; on investing in processes that must outlast political cycles; and on treating transparency not as a symbolic gesture, but as a practical governance tool grounded in data, dialogue, and local ownership. It also shows that meaningful change is driven by people—within governments, across sectors, and in society—who are willing to engage openly with information and carry the work forward over time.
Dr. Valeria Merino is a non-profit executive, a lawyer, and an expert in democratic and participatory governance, transparency, and anti-corruption. She served as Chair of the FiTI International Board from January 2020 to December 2025.