Abstract
Healthy oceans are critical for nature, human wellbeing and planetary stability. Marine life, including exploited species, are essential to that health, driving biological, chemical and physical processes integral to ecosystem functioning and services to people 1,2 . Yet most countries are failing to meet targets under the Paris Agreement, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for poverty reduction, zero hunger and adequate nutrition, climate action, reduced inequalities, environmental and ocean protection 3 , as well as the Global Biodiversity Framework 4 . To meet these global aspirations, we must move beyond business as usual, reimagine sustainability standards for fishing that will be resilient and adaptable in the face of rapid global change, and develop creative ways to implement them.
Marine fish contribute significantly to global food and nutritional security, particularly through subsistence, artisanal and commercial small-scale fisheries and in the Global South 5 . The healthier nutritional profile of seafood versus terrestrial animal foods has led to increased promotion of seafood 6 with the global rate of its consumption continuing to outpace that of human population growth 5 and projected to nearly double by 2050 7 . Today, wild seafood is sourced through an extraordinary diversity of socialecological systems that operate from coastal habitats through to the open ocean and target a plethora of animals and plants 8 . Managing fisheries more sustainably is a global imperative given the increasing numbers of people living in hunger 9 .
Many of the world's fish populations remain overfished and in decline 5,10 , despite improvements in fisheries management and fishing practices for some species and in some countries 11 . Numerous fishing companies operate in ways that generate wide environmental impacts on.