Late last year, just ahead of the holiday season, our oceans received a welcome gift.

Eight of the world’s largest seafood companies announced a 10-point conservation plan that includes pledges to combat illegal fishing and improve traceability of the fish that enter their supply chains.

That breakthrough commitment, on the eve of the sustainable seafood movement’s 20th anniversary in 2017, was the headline story to emerge from the ‘Keystone Dialogues,’ a three-day meeting on ocean stewardship held in the Maldives Islands. Corporate giants such as Cargill, Marine Harvest and Dongwon Industries deserve credit for promising action to ensure healthier oceans and a more sustainable fishing industry.

But there is another, less-heralded group that merits a round of applause: A small team of Swedish marine ecologists who, more than four years ago, began a “curiosity-based science project” that has upended conventional wisdom on how to go about protecting oceans and fish.

In 2012, Henrik Österblom and a half-dozen colleagues at the Stockholm Resilience Centre began identifying the ‘keystone actors’ in the seafood industry – and researching whether a major change in their business practices could have a global impact on marine environments at risk from threats such as overfishing, climate change and habitat loss.

Their work marked a shift in thinking about ocean stewardship, which typically focuses on managing populations of ‘keystone species’ such as tuna or salmon, which are vital to maintaining healthy ecosystems. The Swedish scientists spent two years studying the “ecology” of these large seafood companies, poring through company annual reports, uncovering data from trade journals and conducting interviews to understand the scope of their operations.

What they discovered was that 13 corporations control up to 40% of the most valuable seafood stocks, and about 15% of the global catch. That led to an ‘a-ha’ moment: These companies hold so much sway over seafood that if they adopted more sustainable practices, everyone – from fishermen to governments to regional fishery management organizations – might be forced to do the same.

“We realized that, wow, these guys are so big, that if they change direction, then everything is going to change direction,” says Österblom.

In some ways, the research was the easy part. The harder part, Österblom and his colleagues quickly understood, would be convincing these transnational companies to sit down with them – and each other – to find common ground about how to operate more sustainably.

“We spent a couple of years convincing them that they should be talking to us,” says Österblom.

In the end, eight companies agreed to a meeting in the Maldives under the patronage of HRH Crown Princess of Sweden, Victoria, a champion of ocean conservation and a powerful ally for her compatriot scientists.

The Walton Family Foundation, through our Environment Program, helped fund the gathering, as part of its efforts to secure healthy, sustainable fisheries. Our goal is to significantly reduce overfishing and improve ocean health over the next 10 to 20 years.

The Maldives meeting was initially envisioned as a first step – a chance for company representatives and scientists to get to know each other, and to build trust, says Österblom. Instead, it produced consensus.

The companies’ Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship declaration noted that “humanity is now challenging the stability of Earth and its ocean” and acknowledged their collective role as a “global force” whose actions could produce more resilient oceans, capable of feeding the world for generations.

In addition to pledges on illegal fishing and transparency, the companies vowed to work to end “any form of modern slavery” in their supply chains, reduce the use of antibiotics in aquaculture and lower the use of plastics in seafood operations.

“It’s remarkable that in four years, we’ve gone from not even knowing who these companies are, to actually having them agree on global commitments. We’re still pretty blown away by it,” Österblom says.

He believes the companies were receptive to the researchers because their work was based in science.

“Our agenda is really sustainable oceans, without predefining how that can be achieved. That should be the same long-term goal these companies have as well.”

The 10-point plan, if implemented, has the potential to have a cascading, positive impact, including on fisheries in countries such as Indonesia, Peru and Chile, areas of focus for the Walton Family Foundation’s ocean conservation work.

It will require the companies to reach deep into their supply chains to understand where, and how, they need to make improvements in their operations. Change will not happen overnight: many of these companies are so large it will take time to determine what action is needed.

Not only do oceans stand to benefit, the companies will become better businesses as result.

“These are the companies that set the agenda for global seafood,” observes Österblom. “Through this initiative, they have agreed to take the lead on sustainability. It is likely to have a major effect throughout the seafood production system. That is actually game changing.”