Celebrating a Decade of Impact
Japan has evolved into a world-leading growth market for sustainable seafood in the last ten years.
Seafood Legacy was founded in 2015 with the purpose of to pass on the legacy of seafood—an essential link between marine ecosystems, economies, and local communities—to future generations in a sustainable and abundant state.
Since then, we have been leading efforts to mainstream sustainable seafood in Japan by driving market transformation, facilitating engagement between financial and seafood sectors, as well as advocating for policy reform. At the time of our founding, the concept of sustainability had barely taken root in the Japanese seafood industry. Today, however, we are proud to witness the remarkable progress made across the industry.
Message
Message from the CEO
A Brighter Future for the Ocean and Beyond: Reflecting on 10 Years of Seafood Legacy
2025 marks the 10th anniversary of Seafood Legacy. We were able to come this far because of you. Thank you for believing in us and supporting us over the years.
With a mission to pass on healthy oceans and ensure the well-being and happiness of future generations, we have been leading the sustainable seafood movement from Japan. Thanks to the abundance of seafood resources, major seafood companies are geographically concentrated in Japan. The country also leverages its advanced information technology. More recently, Japan has become a front-running country in nature-related financial disclosure. By leveraging these strengths, we have been working with a wide range of stakeholders—companies, government agencies, financial institutions and civil society organizations—to make Japan a global leader in environmental and social responsibility in the seafood sector.
This year, we have become a certified B Corporation™. We are now recognized as a company that meets high standards of social and environmental performance. To celebrate this milestone, we have released our first impact report to share our progress. Moving forward, we remain committed to building a sustainable food system centered on the world’s oceans, expanding our efforts from Japan to Asia, and to the world.
Thank you again for being part of this journey and we cannot wait to see what the next chapter holds.
Wakao Hanaoka
CEO
Seafood Legacy Co., Ltd.
Impact
Japan emerges as one of the world’s leading
sustainable seafood growth markets over the past decade
To mark our 10th anniversary, we have published our first impact report, which summarizes the social and environmental impact of our corporate activities.
Looking ahead, we aim to expand the impact beyond Japan to emerging seafood markets across Asia.
01
Market Transformation
When Seafood Legacy was founded in 2015, the concept of sustainability had yet to fully take root in the Japanese seafood industry, and very few companies had sustainable procurement policies. However, influenced by the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games held in 2021, and other developments, many major companies sourcing seafood have now established sustainable procurement policies and begun implementing traceability systems, as well as environmental and human rights due diligence. Once frequently the subject of international criticism, Japan’s seafood industry is now expected to be a global leader in the sustainable seafood movement.
Congratulations on your 10th anniversary.
From day one, Seafood Legacy has spearheaded pioneering initiatives to make sustainable seafood the mainstream. I would like to express my deepest respect for your remarkable efforts aiming to secure a prosperous future for our oceans.
The Seven & i Holdings is proud to have been part of this journey with you, united by a common vision. We are excited to continue this collaboration. We look forward to your continued innovative and passionate leadership in the advancement of the seafood industry and the realization of a sustainable society .
Junro Ito
Representative Director and Executive Chair
Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd.
02
Finance Engagement
Since 2019, reports by non-profit financial think tanks and international finance platforms have highlighted the risks of investments and loans in seafood companies in Japan. Currently, several Japanese financial institutions have established finance policies for the fisheries and aquaculture business sector, implementing sustainability-linked loans and blue bonds. In 2023, FAIRR and several other international organizations* launched a joint engagement initiative calling for greater disclosure and stronger traceability requirements. As the country with the highest number of early adopters of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) recommendations, expectations are rising for Japanese seafood companies.
*FAIRR, UNEP FI, WWF, Planet Tracker, World Benchmarking Alliance
I would like to express my deep respect for your bold challenge making sustainable seafood the mainstream, together.
Thanks to Seafood Legacy’s tireless efforts over the past decade, collaborative initiatives are expanding at remarkable speed around the world. I am confident that this trend will become an even greater wave in the near future.
Seafood sustainability is a cross-cutting topic at the intersection of critical global issues like climate change, natural-capital degradation, biodiversity loss and the need to transition to a circular economy. All eyes should remain on Seafood Legacy, the epicenter of this trend.
Here’s to the next ten years—festina lente (make haste slowly)!
Kotaro Sueyoshi
Joint General Manager
Sustainable Business Promotion Department
Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. and Mizuho Bank, Ltd.
03
Policy Shift
In 2018, Japan revised its Fishery Act for the first time in 70 years. The revised law came into effect in 2020, stipulating “sustainable use of fishery resources” and bringing Japan’s framework for fish stock management closer to global standards. Additionally, for imported seafood products, which account for half of domestic consumption, are required to implement measures to counter illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and the Act on Ensuring the Proper Domestic Distribution and Importation of Specified Aquatic Animals and Plants came into force in 2022. Currently, only a limited number of fish species are covered by the Act, but there are calls for expanding its coverage to all major species and introducing electronic reporting systems.
From its inception, Seafood Legacy has been actively raising awareness about sustainable fisheries, as seen during The Sustainable Seafood Summit every year.
Through consistent resource management based on the revised Fisheries Act and the promotion of marine-related industries, the Fisheries Agency of Japan aims to ensure the sustainable development of Japan’s fisheries industries and fishing communities so that they can continue to supply seafood to consumers and fulfill many other important roles.
We look forward to your continued contribution to the advancement of Japan’s fisheries sector.
Takeshi Mori
Former Director-General
Fisheries Agency of Japan
04
Movement Orchestration
In 2015, the Tokyo Sustainable Seafood Symposium (TSSS) was launched as a platform where diverse stakeholders could come together with sustainability as the central focus. It became a venue where competing companies gathered and new collaborations emerged. Since then, it has grown into one of the largest sustainable seafood events in Asia and was renamed the Tokyo Sustainable Seafood Summit in 2019. At the tenth summit in 2024, we looked back on the past decade and set the 2030 goal of making sustainable seafood the mainstream, together, a vision that was supported by nearly all participants.
Over the past decade, you engaged with public, private and civil sectors as well as academia, and brought together a multitude of stakeholders–from fisheries operators to those in the financial sector–to build sustainable seafood supply chains. Your efforts are now bearing fruit in many areas.
You have also developed mutual understanding between Asia and the West: respecting the significance of Asia’s food culture, in which diverse species sourced by small-scale fisheries are key to, as well as considering human rights issues.
Your dedication and tireless commitment of Wakao have undoubtedly brought about real change. I look forward to seeing Seafood Legacy continue to lead the transformation of the future of our oceans –from Japan and Asia, to the world. Congratulations.
Kaori Fujita
Professor, Green Goals Initiative and Graduate School of Life Sciences,
Tohoku University, and Senior Deputy Editor, Nikkei ESG
Message
Foundataion’s messages
The Packard Foundation is honored to have supported Seafood Legacy for the last decade. We commend the Seafood Legacy involved for a decade of dedication to Japan’s sustainable seafood movement.
The progress has been impressive, and the Sustainable Seafood Summit stands as a testament to your impact. Together, we’re helping build a future where healthy oceans support resilient communities and lasting food security. We are excited to see what the next decade holds for Seafood Legacy, and our global community.
Sarah Hogan
Ocean Director
David & Lucile Packard Foundation
As Seafood Legacy marks its 10th anniversary, the Walton Family Foundation proudly celebrates a decade of transformative impact in sustainable seafood practices across Japan and beyond. Over these ten remarkable years, Seafood Legacy has emerged as a leader, driving significant progress in market transformation, finance engagement, and policy reform toward ocean sustainability.
The Walton Family Foundation, through our Oceans initiative, is deeply committed to supporting innovative partnerships. Looking ahead, we eagerly anticipate the first-ever Osaka Sustainable Seafood Summit in 2025 and thank you for joining us on this extraordinary journey toward a sustainable and resilient future.
Teresa ish
Oceans Initiative Lead
Senior Program Officer
Walton Family Foundation
Movie
10th Anniversary Movie
To commemorate our 10th anniversary, we created a short video capturing key moments from the past decade.
Logo
10th Anniversary Logo
We are deeply grateful to everyone for helping us reach this milestone.
To mark the occasion, we have created a special anniversary logo.
The circle on the right (i.e., the zero of the “10”) represents the Earth and its thriving oceans. The fish in its center represents the irreplaceable bounty of the sea and the marine life we need to protect. The yellow part signifies the Sun, a symbol of hope for the future and the enduring light of sustainability.
Seafood Legacy ーis Now a
Certified B Corporation™
A Milestone Achievement on Its 10th anniversary to Further Mainstream Sustainable Seafood
© Seafood Legacy Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.