A decade of ocean keystone actor science: What have we learned?

Which are the largest seafood companies in the world? What species are they catching or farming – how much, and from where? Can they use their powers for a healthier ocean? Can scientists engage with these actors to support change towards ocean stewardship?

In 2015, researchers at the Stockholm Resilience Centre explored these questions in their paper Transnational Corporations as ‘Keystone Actors’ in Marine Ecosystems. Inspired by the ecological concept of keystone species – organisms whose influence on ecosystems is disproportionately large – they asked whether the same logic could be applied to the seafood industry, and what this might mean for ocean stewardship.

“Our analysis revealed that a handful of powerful companies dominated seafood production, trade, and governance. These “keystone actors” weren’t just participating in the system – they were shaping it,” says Centre researcher Henrik Österblom, lead author of the 2015 study, and instrumental in the keystone actor research since the start.

The paper ended with a bold hypothesis: that sustainable leadership by keystone actors could catalyze a transition toward improved management of marine resources and ecosystems.

But the researchers didn’t stop at diagnosis. Instead, they launched an ambitious experiment: to collaborate directly with these corporate giants and test whether their leadership could drive systemic change. In 2016, CEOs of eight of the world’s largest seafood companies gathered around a table together with leading scientists and HRH Crown Princess Victoria to explore their collective capacity—and responsibility—for ocean stewardship. The result was SeaBOS – Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship – a pioneering science-business partnership grounded in trust, transparency, and a shared commitment to sustainability.

Today, the science of keystone actors and their potential to contribute to biosphere stewardship are key areas of exploration at the Centre. As we mark ten years of keystone actor science, it is time to reflect on what this collaboration between science and industry has taught us – and where it’s heading.

Going further together

At the first Keystone Dialogue, CEOs were asked a simple question: “What challenges do you face today that you cannot overcome alone?” The Dialogue concluded with a joint vision of transforming the seafood industry to ocean stewardship. This outcome, and the expressed level of ambition, was beyond the expectations of the participating scientists. A decade later, the industry is still facing the same problems, and a transformation is anything but obvious. Everyone expects SeaBOS to deliver tangible results, and no one is satisfied yet. But signs of progress are emerging across the portfolio of SeaBOS activities.

“Change is more challenging than expected and it requires more patience than anticipated,” comments Henrik Österblom.

Company representatives and scientists are still hard at work, determined to deliver outcomes, action and new knowledge that is compatible with the investment they have all made in time and money during the last decade.

“Progress has been particularly evident in three areas, namely antibiotic stewardship, climate action, and a step-change in sustainability work and transparency in Japan,” says Centre researcher Robert Blasiak, who leads the science team working with SeaBOS.

1. In 2023, SeaBOS launched a project on reducing antimicrobial residues in Thai shrimp farming, supported by years of trust-building and transparency around antibiotic use. In 2024, this work culminated in a CEO-endorsed Code of Conduct for Antimicrobial Use and Stewardship – an industry first.
2. On climate, SeaBOS members have co-developed a manual for the seafood industry on how to set climate targets, and have set and reported on their own science-based emissions targets. Since 2018, collective reporting shows nearly a 20% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions. New efforts to disclose Scope 3 emissions, the bulk of most companies' carbon footprint, highlight the importance of deeper engagement across supply chains.
3. Perhaps the most striking change has been within Japan. Once lagging behind on key sustainability issues, Japanese member companies have rapidly strengthened their capacity and are now leading in several areas. A 2024 study by centre researchers found evidence that SeaBOS-driven practices of transparency and engagement in ocean stewardship may be rippling through the broader Japanese seafood sector.

Together, these developments give room for cautious optimism. The SeaBOS approach – engaging keystone actors through science-based dialogue and accountability – is generating results. But is it enough? Is more possible?

A living laboratory for transformation

Over the past ten years, the study of the SeaBOS initiative has evolved in parallel with the initiative itself – moving from observation to deep engagement, and from hypothesis to long-term analysis.

Early research focused on internal dynamics, how trust was built, how agendas were set, and how legitimacy was maintained in this unusual coalition of competitors. The 2017 paper Emergence of a global science-business initiative for ocean stewardship introduced the essential elements of the collaboration to the scientific community for the first time. In 2022, the maturing of the initiative from a science-led idea to an established organization with a self-funded secretariat was described in another peer-reviewed publication, Scientific mobilization of keystone actors for biosphere stewardship. A book published in 2023 describes a comprehensive story of the origins and development of the project.

Making waves beyond the seafood sector

While SeaBOS remains the main experiment, the keystone actor concept has travelled outside the seafood sector. Its core insight – that a small number of dominant corporations can shape entire ecosystems – has inspired a growing body of research. In The Ocean 100: Transnational Corporations in the Ocean Economy, researchers mapped corporate concentration beyond seafood, notably in oil and gas. The paper Transnational Corporations and the Challenge of Biosphere Stewardship and subsequent correspondence outline future directions for research and highlight the importance of public policy in driving corporate accountability. This work has, however, also generated commentaries and concerns that scientists may contribute to making powerful actors more powerful, at the expense of other actors.

Nonetheless, the keystone actor hypothesis has influenced thinking on how science and society interact and has been featured in major contributions to the field of knowledge co-production within sustainability science, including Six Modes of Co-production for Sustainability and Principles for Knowledge Co-production in Sustainability Research.

"These works underscore a growing consensus: that complex global challenges are best addressed through collaborative knowledge production between academics and practitioners – even when such collaboration may challenge existing norms and perceptions,” says Cora Cunningham, who coordinates the SeaBOS science team today.

Looking back, and looking forward

Ten years after the first publication on keystone actors in the ocean, the idea that powerful companies can – and must – play a central role in sustainability transformations is no longer novel. Yet SeaBOS remains a rare and influential example of what can be learned from engaging in long-term collaboration between science and business.

Today, SeaBOS serves as both a model and a mirror: a model for how unusual alliances can drive change, and a mirror that prompts reflection, critique, and learning as other sectors and actors explore how to harness the power of keystone actors for global sustainability transformations. Their powers are not likely to diminish – the question is how they are used.