Collaboration with the seafood industry
Since our establishment in 2017, In The Same Boat has collaborated extensively with the seafood industry, engaging at the corporate level, with industry associations, and with government entities.
The expertise we have developed over these years, now allows us to provide the seafood industry with a comprehensive cost efficient solution to minimize plastic pollution and increase recycling, ensuring compliance with both governmental regulations and public sustainability expectations.
By taking on this responsibility, we make it possible for the seafood industry to increase their sustainability and to be an active part in solving the plastic pollution crisis, with a goal of being nature positive.
From early 2025 our collaboration with the seafood industry will be organised through a new legal entity, taking on an even bigger formal responsibility for the industry.
This includes the following:
– Required environmental monitoring
– Professional coastal cleaning
– Documentation for ESG, EPR, CSRD, IMO and other legislations.
– Retrieving lost gear
– 1st response 24/7
– Spreading awareness and knowledge within the industry
– Developing tehcnology and methodology to reduce marine pollution
– Services to make waste logistics more efficient
– Systems to increase recycling of equipment, tools and packaging
Industry leading companies, such as MOWI, Nova Sea, Kvarøy Fiskeoppdrett, Cermaq, Måsøval, Lovundlaks and Hitramat, have been important partners, supporting our development and sharing their knowledge and experience.
From 2024 we’ve also involved some of the associations representing the seafood industry, like Norges Råfisklag and Norges Sildesalgslag. Some actors from the supply chain are also engaged, like Egersund Akvagroup.
We also have to mention other actors from the maritime area, like Van Oord, Kvantum, Marlog, Rustibus and Klaveness Stiftelsen, that have been supporting our operations and development.
The Norwegian Retailers Environment Fund (Handelens Miljøfond) has over time been our biggest source of funding for professional big scale beach cleaning.
Value proposition
Our engagement in the seafood industry aims to generate increased value for all stakeholders—the industry itself, society, and the environment—aligning with the principles of the sustainability pyramid and the UN sustainable development goals.
Our innovative and leading methodology enables this vision, and same time we’re positioning ourselves as an integral part of the industry’s value chain.
We strive to lower the threshold for making good and knowledge based strategic decisions in matters involving environmental impact, simplifying the path for the players to meet the expectations of markets, governments, and society.
Through this approach, we deliver cost-effective, sustainable solutions that contribute to maintaining a clean, productive ocean—ensuring its vitality for future generations.
Documentation and reporting
Our reporting is based on official standards from the relevant legislations, but we also tailor reports based on specific requirements from the industry. Some of the main KPI’s are amount of plastic collected and recycled, detailed analyses of sources, meters of shoreline covered, CO2 emissions and people involved/engaged.
Funding model with buffer
The players of the seafood industry get access to our services through a membership paid by a yearly fee, based on their size, revenue and their ambitions.
We make sure the funding is spent as efficient as possible for each actor as well as the industry as a whole, to achieve the best possible positive environmental impact.
A part of the membership fee, goes to build a reserve fund, that has the purpose as a economic buffer, that can be made available when an immediate bigger response is needed, that exceeds normal operation.
This fund will be managed by a board with representatives from the seafood industry, environmental organisations and the government. The fund will be operating from the beginning of 2025.
The services explained
Required environmental monitoring
Our presence along the coastline make it possible to do systematical surveillance and monitoring of the shoreline and the environmental state.
Professional coastal cleaning
Our beach cleaning teams operate full season, covering more than 60% of the Norwegian coastline, and also expeditions and projects in other countries around the North Sea and the North Atlantic.
Documentation - ESG, EPR, CSRD, IMO++
We’ve optimized our methology to be able to report in the formats of numerous legislations. The documentation is provided both for the industry as a whole, and for each player involved.
Retrieveing lost gear
Some of our teams and partners in the network are specialized in salvaging lost gear, using ROVs or diving to locate and retrieve both cages and nets.
1st response team
Our 1st response team is based on a network of operators of technical resources, equipment and boats along the whole coastline of Norway, and a database of trained volunteers with extensive training and experience in beach cleaning and handling marine litter.
These human resources are normally active in regular beach cleaning, and cover a wide range of academic and practical background and experience, which might be useful in a situation where response time might be decisive for the outcome.
Spreading awareness and knowledge
To maximise our impact we work actively to spread experience and awareness within the industries, through reports, workshops and other events involving the players, the suppliers and their employees.
Developing methods and technology
Implementing new methods and technology is an important part of the solution to the plastic problem. This goes all the way down to developing new materials and designs, and to change how the materials flow through the value chain.
Reducing costs of waste logistics
One of the biggest costs of treating waste is the logistics – to get the used materials from the place they have served, to the optimal place for recycling, and keeping track of the full origin.
Our goal is to set up a sea based complete logistic, that has the potential of reducing the costs with up to 70%. This will lower the threshold for the actors to set up efficient recycling.
Increased recycling
We take part in the process of organising material flows according to the EPR directive, collaborating with the producers and suppliers of equipment – not only focusing on the “easy” fractions, but the more challenging ones that are not able to recycle with todays technology and available suppliers.
