Oceans are critical to the food security of billions of people and play a vital role in regulating greenhouse gasses and making us more resilient in the face of climate change. Despite their importance to our economy, health, and environment, the flow of capital dedicated to addressing challenges facing our oceans has been limited.
It is critical that we support innovative new models—including technology adoption, improved fisheries management and market innovation—that will lead to healthier oceans that enable both people and nature to prosper. Philanthropic giving alone will not be enough to scale the solutions needed. Impact investments that prioritize social and environmental benefits for our oceans rather than just financial returns are essential to build demand for sustainable seafood.
But for many investors, the sector can feel difficult to navigate. Unlike agriculture, where production is relatively predictable, fisheries operate in a constantly shifting environment shaped by climate change, migration patterns and complex local dynamics. Combined with limited familiarity, this uncertainty has historically kept investment on the sidelines.
That’s where The Sustainable Fisheries Dealbook comes in.
The Dealbook is the first curated collection of investment opportunities focused on building climate-resilient fisheries and coastal communities in Mexico. Through eight case studies, the Dealbook showcases organizations pioneering scalable models—from technology adoption and improved fisheries management to market innovations—that deliver measurable environmental and social returns. Designed as a practical guide, it helps investors understand not just why to invest, but how.
Since 2006, the Walton Family Foundation has supported projects to improve the sustainable management of almost 50 fisheries across Mexico, working with partners to strengthen the systems that underpin long-term success. This includes improving data collection, upgrading cold storage and expanding market access. This allows fishers to catch fewer fish while earning more from higher-quality, in-demand products.
Today, the eight organizations featured in the Dealbook are ready to scale. Each represents a tangible opportunity for investors to deploy catalytic capital—driving healthier oceans while supporting the communities that depend on them.
What is the Dealbook, and why is it needed?
The Dealbook offers a menu of options for impact investors—making the case that sustainability is a strategic advantage when it comes to fisheries investment, and in a language that investors can understand.
A first-of-its-kind guide, each of the eight case studies showcase what’s possible when entrepreneurs, cooperatives and innovators reimagine the future of sustainable fisheries.
After 20 years helping build the capacity of Mexican fisheries organizations, the foundation believes that for change to be durable, it will need to scale through genuine market interest and investment up and down the value chain.
The Dealbook cuts through the fog of an unfamiliar sector, revealing specific entry points where impact funders can get involved today.
What do investors need to understand about these opportunities?
Most importantly, investors should understand that the sector exists—and is growing—for sustainable seafood. As of 2022, the world’s three largest markets for seafood—the United States, Japan and Europe—have all closed their doors to illegal, underreported and unregulated catch, sending a clear signal to the seafood sector that sustainable practices and a traceable product matter to their bottom line.
While around half of the world’s seafood is produced by large-scale commercial operations, the other half of production (accounting for 90% of fishers worldwide) is done by small-scale operations, many of whom form small cooperatives to sell their product. For sustainability to be lasting, it is critical to reach small-scale fishers, encourage sustainable practices and bring their product to international markets.
Dealbook highlights organizations like Mexico’s SmartFish AC, which transforms fishing cooperatives into competitive social enterprises with traceability systems, better negotiating skills, solid governance and a collective vision that allows them to operate transparently, access financing and consolidate sustainable markets. On average, cooperatives that apply the SmartFish AC model increase their income by 38%.
When it comes to sustainable fisheries, what can investors expect in terms of deal structure?
For many sustainable fisheries projects, a standard structure simply isn’t possible given the nature of the work, and the timing of potential profits. Fishing, by its nature, is seasonal, and income is not consistent. The margins can be smaller than what investors are used to, and sustainable practices can take time, effort and capital to take root in a community. To give these organizations the best chance at success, investors will want to consider “patient capital” — deals that make it possible for organizations to establish practices, become profitable and pay back loans over a more flexible time period.
The Isla Natividad Divers and Fishermen Cooperative Society (Buzos y Pescadores) has been promoting a unique community-based fisheries management model for more than thirty years. Internationally renowned for its sustainable abalone and lobster fisheries, the cooperative is on track to become a leading force in abalone aquaculture in Mexico.
They currently operate an aquaculture laboratory that has been running as a commercial pilot project since 2010. The project has proven the technical feasibility of farming and restocking abalone and has now set a goal to seed nearly 500,000 abalone annually over the next five years.
The cooperative is now seeking catalytic capital to improve facilities and pay wages as the project scales.
For impact investors, projects like Buzos y Pescadores offer a low barrier to entry and a significant opportunity to catalyze deep social and environmental impact along Mexico’s west coast.
To close the gap between philanthropy and impact investment, we invite our peers to explore the Dealbook as an opportunity to combine diverse forms of capital to scale lasting impact.
The Walton Family Foundation is committed to deploying flexible capital to de-risk new ideas, strengthen project pipelines and build demand for sustainable seafood. But more investment is needed for these solutions to reach their potential. To close the gap between philanthropy and impact investment, we invite our peers to explore the Dealbook as an opportunity to combine diverse forms of capital to scale lasting impact. Together, we can advance a sustainable ocean economy that secures livelihoods, restores ecosystems and generates positive returns for funders who believe ocean sustainability can be one of the most powerful investment opportunities of our time.
