Meet Fish 2.0's award-winning businesses disrupting seafood

The prestigious seafood business competition Fish 2.0 recently announced the eight winning companies who are working to make the seafood industry more sustainable, traceable and socially conscious.

Seafood is an essential form of high-quality nutrition around the world. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States, global per capita consumption of fish has risen to more than 44 pounds per year for the first time. This growth is largely driven by the relatively recent adoption of aquaculture, which is used by many more-sustainable-than-you-think fisheries. But in a 2016 report, FAO said that the world’s marine resources are hurting, citing that, “almost a third of commercial fish stocks are now fished at biologically unsustainable levels, triple the level of 1974.” Overfishing, paired with rampant mislabeling and sometimes sub-par working conditions for fishermen, has left the seafood industry in need of repair.

Thankfully, there is a groundswell of companies and organizations working to secure seafood availability for the future. Fish 2.0 is one such organization. Based in Carmel, California, Fish 2.0 connects investors and global seafood entrepreneurs to grow the sustainable seafood sector. In addition to workshops, networking and mentoring events, the Fish 2.0 competition culminates with the global and topical Innovation Forum. The sterling group of winners were recently announced. These winners were awarded $5,000 to further fund their operations.

Flip through the slideshow to view Fish 2.0’s sustainable seafood business competition winners, and learn how these pioneering companies are solving some of seafood’s most pressing issues.

This piece originally appeared on New Hope Network, a Supermarket News sister website.