Bloomberg Philanthropies has announced the launch of the Vibrant Oceans initiative, a commitment of $53 million over five years to promote reforms to boost fish populations in Brazil, the Philippines and Chile.
The organisation says that reforming fishing practices in these countries will revitalise 7% of the world's fisheries and will potentially serve as a model for future global reform efforts by providing insights into the best ways to protect the world's fish supply.
"At Bloomberg Philanthropies, we look for opportunities to address unmet needs with proven solutions that improve the greatest number of lives. While billions of people depend on fish for food or income, only 13% of the world's fisheries are safe from being over-fished, presenting serious environmental and public health challenges," said Michael R Bloomberg, philanthropist and 108th Mayor of New York City.
"Data shows the world's severely threatened fish populations can rebound if fishing is properly managed. The investment we are making now will help bring more life back to our oceans – and protect them for future generations," he added.
The Vibrant Oceans initiative is said to be applying a groundbreaking approach to fisheries management by becoming the first effort to simultaneously target small scale, near-shore fishing and industrial, far-shore fishing - previous efforts to reform fishing generally concentrated on one or the other.
Bloomberg Philanthropies says that reforming both in the same place at the same time will have a much larger impact than targeting one or the other because local fishers and industrial vessels catch roughly equal amounts of fish for food.
Bloomberg Philanthropies has chosen Oceana, EKO Asset Management Partners and Rare as its partners to put the initiative into motion.
