Big fishing: the role of the large-scale commercial fishing industry in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 14

United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) ₁₄ ‘life below water’, is directed to the sustainable use and conservation of the oceans and marine resources. However, there is very limited information available on how the large-scale commercial fishing industry might contribute to the achievement of SDG ₁₄. This paper shows engagement opportunities for the fishing industry, with a focus on fish harvesting, for the different targets of SDG ₁₄. We find that the fish harvesting sector can contribute to almost all SDG ₁₄ targets, except in the prohibition of certain forms of fishing subsidies. The fishing industry has the opportunity to implement practices that, for example, can help to reduce marine pollution or bycatch. More work is needed to provide specific reporting mechanisms for fisheries companies to assess their progress against the other SDGs.