What we do

Listed are the types of services that we provide, broken down into the four main areas in which we currently work. However, we have also experience in other kind of projects (aquaculture, marine environmental protection, etc.). Therefore, if you are interested in carrying out a marine

project but you cannot find the service that you are looking for here, please just ask us.

Artisanal and industrial fisheries

Naunet Fisheries Consultants has worked extensively in fisheries projects. Our experience ranges from the characterization of coastal fisheries and their impacts on marine resources and coastal communities in Portugal and England, to work aboard commercial fishing vessels in order to verify compliance with international fisheries regulations in waters managed by several RFMOs. The services provided include:

Design and implementation of data collection systems for managing fish and shellfish stocks;
Commercial and ecological fisheries assessments;
Testing the implementation of mitigation measures to reduce the impact on bycatch species and habitats;
Implementation of fisheries management regimes;
Fisheries liaison for offshore development projects;
Technical assistance for Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs);
Implementation of Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) systems;
Pre-assessment studies for eco-certification programmes;
Cost - Benefit Analysis (CBA) of new management measures, potential new fisheries, etc.

Seafood markets/Fishing industry

We design workable options to improve fishermen’s and processors’ income by reducing quality losses in supply chains, facilitating the creation of collective brands or certifying seafood products. Our range of services include:

Market/trade studies for marine products;
Sustainable/responsible sourcing assessments;
Pre-assessments for eco- and social certification programs;
Internal audits in social responsibility;
Environmental, social and governance risk assessment of supply chains;
Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) risk assessment for supply-chains;
Implementation of seafood traceability systems;
Evaluation of alternative income generating activities;

A recent project in this area was to conduct value chain analysis to evaluate post-harvest losses and identify interventions able to curb quality losses at the first stages of the supply chain in the octopus, squid and tuna fisheries in Madagascar and Indonesia.

Community development

Supporting and empowering fishing communities is one of the principal aims of our consultancy. We are convinced that local communities have to be involved in the management of their own resources to become sustainable. Social issues like labour rights, gender equity, and food security are also a growing priority in the seafood industry. The services that we offer in this area include:

Small-scale fisheries and rural aquaculture project design and development;
Livelihood studies;
Socio-Economic Impact Assessments (SEIAs);
Environmental, Social and Governance risk assessment of supply chains;
Community capacity building;
Promotion of activities and new businesses;
Design and implementation of environmental education programmes.

A recent project undertook by Naunet Fisheries Consultants was the evaluation of international development projects in North Africa (Senegal) to identify successful cases of co-management in coastal fisheries and analyse the effects that seafood choices in Europe have on food security and livelihoods in coastal communities.

Blue economy

The Blue economy is defined by the World Bank as the “sustainable use of ocean resources to benefit economies, livelihoods and ocean ecosystem health”. This movement is represented by several activities, such as, coastal tourism, renewable energy, seabed extractive industries and deep sea mining, maritime shipping, marine genetic resources and biotechnology, and of course fishing and aquaculture, which are our areas of expertise. Therefore, the services offered by our consultancy, indicated above, are very much in line with the main aim of the blue economy movement. However, as in recent years the Blue economy has emerged as a main/independent development itself, we consider it is important to highlight here that we also work as a Blue economy experts in the area of fisheries, aquaculture and seafood markets providing advice to our clients on how to make a sustainable use of the marine resources to get the most of it.

Recent projects in this area includes the participation as a fisheries and aquaculture experts in a World Bank funded project aimed at preparing a roadmap for the development of the Blue economy in Tunisia.