On a spec sheet, “FIP-aligned” looks like a sustainability badge. It isn’t one, and understanding the difference protects both your sourcing story and your shelf.
A FIP is a direction, not a destination
A Fishery Improvement Project brings together the people with a stake in a wild fishery, fishers, processors, importers, NGOs, and often local authorities, to move that fishery toward internationally recognized sustainability standards. The work is structured against a public workplan with milestones, and progress is tracked and reported openly.
That last part is the point. A FIP is not a claim that a fishery is already sustainable; it’s a documented, accountable commitment that it is improving, with the evidence out in the open for anyone to check.
How a FIP differs from a certification
It’s easy to read “FIP” as a lighter version of an eco-label like MSC. They’re different tools for different stages:
- A certification (such as MSC) is an endpoint, an independent body has audited the fishery and confirmed it meets a defined standard today.
- A FIP is the road that can lead there, a fishery that is working toward those standards against public milestones, but does not yet qualify for certification.
For wholesale buyers, that distinction matters at the point of sale. We describe FIP participation as participation, and certification as certification. Keeping those separate protects you as much as it protects us. Telling them it comes from a fishery in an active, publicly tracked improvement project is both accurate and genuinely compelling.
What a FIP gets you as a buyer
Three things, mostly:
- A defensible story. Sustainability questions now come from procurement teams and end consumers alike. A FIP gives you a real, documented answer instead of a vague assurance.
- Risk reduction. Improving fisheries are managing toward stock health and traceability, the factors most likely to cause a future supply shock or a compliance problem.
- Future-proofing. Today’s FIP species are tomorrow’s certified ones. Building the relationship early means you’re not scrambling when a major retailer tightens its sourcing policy.
How to verify the claim
“FIP-aligned” is only as good as what sits behind it. Ask your supplier for specifics, and confirm them:
- The name and ID of the specific FIP, and the species and origin it covers.
- A link to the public progress tracker (industry platforms publish FIP profiles, workplans, and status ratings).
- Whether the claim covers the exact product you’re buying, origin, species, and gear type, not just the supplier in general.
Where Deep Sea Atlantic sits
Some of the fisheries we work with participate in Fishery Improvement Projects, corvina among the first, and we’ll point you to the specifics on request rather than asking you to take the label on faith. As our sourcing footprint across Suriname, Mexico, Guyana and Brazil grows, so does the share of it moving through improvement projects.
Sourcing this species for a program?
Tell us your volume and region, a rep will follow up on your request.