Collaborating to Adapt
In a nutshell, since 2012 the Sustainability Incubator has implemented over 30 Fishery Improvement Projects and, since 2015, screened over 500 seafood supply chains and trained over 80 suppliers in human rights due diligence. Since 2022, the Sustainability Incubator has co-designed and implemented new oversight at fishing ports in Indonesia and the Philippines and within the private seafood sector in Thailand and Indonesia, and completed 3 major investigations into how shrimp and tuna are being made after the pandemic, involving 3 organizations in Viet Nam, 3 in Indonesia, and teams in India. In 2025 we engaged labor/OSH/fishing authorities in policy reform for fishers together with leaders of industry and civil society organizations in all of the 11 member States of ASEAN.
We work mostly behind the scenes but some of our work building respect for ocean people and food has been featured by the Associated Press, Financial Times (UK), Bangkok Post, Washington Post, Yomiuri Shimbun, NPR and all major US networks.
Financial Times (UK), November 20, 2025: The dark truth behind supermarket tuna.
National Public Radio, September 28, 2025:Trump’s tariffs are hurting India’s shrimp industry.
Associated Press 9//30/24: As big supermarkets pursue profits, new research shows growing exploitation of shrimp farmers
Associated Press 9/30/24: Takeaways from AP’s report on how shrimp farmers are exploited as supermarkets push for low prices
AP’s coverage was picked up by newspapers worldwide, including the Washington Post, Jakarta Globe, Business Enquirer, Yomiuri Shimbun-The Japan News, NBC, ABC, Fox and CBS News: Shrimp farmers in Asia exploited by U.S. supermarkets for big profits, research finds.
Op Ed 11/23: The numbers tell the story when it comes to forced labor in seafood
Our collaborators include Mindanao-based Angel Ysik, Honolulu-based Dr. John Kaneko, Waiheke-based Francisco Blaha, Hanoi-based Dr. Huong Ngo and Dinh Lap, Jakarta-based Dr. Kharisma Nugroho and Dr. Martin Sirait, Samut Sakhon-based Patima Tungpuchayakul and Sompong Srakew (Labour Protection Network), Abu Dhabi-based Dr. Nadia Al-Alawai, Rome-based Dr. Lahsan Aboud, Wollongong-based Duncan Leadbitter, Marin-based Liz Muller, Bogotá-based Claudia Beltran and Miami-based Monica Jain.
The company was founded by Dr. Katrina Nakamura, an interdisciplinary scientist and rural planner with substantial experience in co-management of public lands and water and inside supply chains. As a rule, Katrina tries to shorten distance by connecting producers and consumers, having opened and operated 6 seafood restaurants at fishing wharves to feed local fish to local communities.
Based over 20 years in the mid-Pacific Ocean, Katrina earned US citizenship on merit for improving the productive use of natural resources, was part of the federal Ocean Planning Initiative under President Obama, published ground-breaking research and innovative methodology in Science Advances and Nature, and co-won the Partnership for Freedom Grand Prize for tech to eliminate modern slavery in 2016.
Katrina has invested 30 years in sustainability by grounding decisions about land and water in reality with local engagement, rigorous scientific research and strategic planning. She has worked equally for governments, industry, and civil society organizations and to realize the outcomes of common objectives more often than not. Her past work has included writing the Board Views on the Diavik Diamond Mining Proposal for the Prime Minister of Canada, for the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board, and building co-management capacity for forests, minerals, agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture and inside supply chains, not least for the Tsilhqot’in National Government, Central Region Board (Clayoquot Sound) Westcoast Vancouver Island Fisheries Co-management Board, and Northern Manitoba Economic Development Commission.
Durable change that matters takes community. We focus on collaborating to adapt because change happens through dialogue and support at the source, This is how we invest in decision processes, and when good changes come, the credit is due to community.