Sustainable Seafood Consumption in Action: Reinvigorating Consumers’ Right to Information in a Borderless Digital World

Abstract

ABSTRACT Sustainable consumption is a core pillar to give effect to Goal 12 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by the United Nations in 2015. This article identifies consumers’ right to information as a legal conduit to integrate consumer interests with those of industry and regulatory stakeholders through globalized and digitized supply chains. Drawing on the momentum for integration in global fisheries management, the article studies the rise and proliferation of transnational governance models for information to secure legal and sustainable seafood supplies. It critically evaluates the reasons for and consequences of less-than-full engagement and legal protection of consumers in major seafood retail markets, including the European Union and the USA. Their existing seafood traceability systems fail to make sufficient information available to consumers, despite the ability to trace imported seafood to the origin of catch. As the goal of sustainable consumption hinges on consumer choice in an increasingly borderless market, the unavoidable challenge is to enhance consumer-facing traceability and transparency.