Coastal Fisheries Initiative - Challenge Fund
Global Knowledge Competition

How can we help to reduce overfishing in coastal fisheries?

The World Bank-led Coastal Fisheries Initiative-Challenge Fund (CFI-CF) has launched the Global Knowledge Competition (GKC). Spanning four countries, this competition aims to mobilize the collective power of fishing communities, businesses, investors, governments, and other seafood stakeholders to design and implement innovative mechanisms and methods that promote the sustainable use and management of coastal fish stocks.

The problem

Overfishing is among the biggest challenges threatening the health of our oceans, the food security and livelihoods of millions living in coastal communities, and the business opportunities of seafood and related industries around the world.  

Each year, global marine fisheries lose out on US$83 billion in economic benefits due to overfishing (World Bank “The Sunken Billions Revisited”), a sum that could instead be productively reinvested in people, communities, and economies. Limited coordination among fisheries and seafood stakeholders has blocked the development of viable solutions to overfishing, resulting in the continued loss of natural resources and economic benefits.

The competition

The CFI-CF Global Knowledge Competition invites coalitions or individual organizations to develop innovative solutions to reduce overfishing through increased coordination among fishers and collaboration across the seafood industry and value chain actors.  

The competition is highlighting coastal fisheries in four countries—Cabo Verde, Ecuador, Indonesia, and Peru—as well as solutions that can impact coastal fisheries globally. 

The competition seeks solutions that: 

Why are both coordination and collaboration critical?

To manage fishing levels and fishing timing, coordination between fishers (who actually do the fishing) is necessary. To generate incentives for fishers to reduce or coordinate fishing, collaboration across actors upstream and downstream in the seafood value chain will play a crucial role. 

Why apply? 

• Competition winners will receive acceleration and capacity-building services to strengthen and refine their solutions and move them toward future implementation.  
• The World Bank and other partners will publicly recognize the efforts of the winning coalitions and their solutions. Competition winners and runners up will have the opportunity to share their solutions with the seafood industry, investors, and other sustainable fisheries constituents. 

Who can apply?

The competition is open to established or newly formed coalitions, as well as individual organizations seeking coalition partners, working in coastal fisheries and seafood and related industries in Cabo Verde, Ecuador, Indonesia, or Peru.  

Coalitions must be composed of three or more collaborating organizations, including at least two of the following types of organizations: 

• fishing associations or other coastal community organizations 
• businesses 
• nonprofit organizations 

At least two of the coalition organizations must have ongoing operations in the target competition country during the competition.   

What solutions are we looking for? 

We are looking for solutions that address overfishing and promote sustainable use and management of coastal fisheries resources through improved coordination and collaboration among fishers and across various stakeholders. 

Where fish stocks are already degraded, solutions must include biological restoration of fish stock to rebuild the fishery to productive and sustainable levels. 

Incentives for better coordination of fishing level and timing may be generated through arrangements in the value chains to ensure higher post-harvest value of fish catches, catalyze alternative industry structure or practices, and attract innovative financing mechanisms. 

Evaluation Criteria

Only final applications submitted by coalitions will be considered for shortlisting by the Selection Committee. 

How will judges evaluate applications? 

All eligible applications will be evaluated in the following five areas:  

• Problem and Solution Fit 
• Potential Impact 
• Enhanced Coordination 
• Coalition Capability and Structure 
• Sustainability and Replicability