Stakeholder perceptions of seafood supply chain resilience and sustainability: an Australian case study

Seafood supply chains face increasing disruption from climate change, pandemics, and changing market conditions, creating challenges for maintaining both resilience and sustainability. Understanding the perspectives of people working in the industry and supply chain (i.e. stakeholders) are crucial to developing context-specific and practical pathways for supporting continued seafood supply, livelihoods and profitability. Our study examines how supply chain stakeholders (e.g., producers, processors, exporters, retailers, industry representatives and researchers) perceive resilience and sustainability across three Australian seafood supply chains: edible oysters, rock lobster and barramundi. Drawing on a qualitative survey of 102 stakeholders, we identify key patterns in how these concepts are understood and operationalised in addition to perceived disruptions, challenges, opportunities, and adaptive capacity. Most participants perceived their seafood supply chains as both resilient and sustainable, despite recent major disruptions. Stakeholders attributed resilience and sustainability primarily to economic stability (supply, demand, profitability), effective governance (fisheries management and regulation), environmentally responsible and sustainable production practices and adaptive capacity (e.g. adapting to market changes and having flexible logistics). Importantly, resilience was reinforced by adaptive behaviours, including learning from past disruptions, collaboration, and information sharing across supply chain actors. While sustainability was commonly associated with reducing environmental impacts and maintaining economic viability, social dimensions were underrepresented, revealing a gap between stakeholder perceptions and broader socio-ecological sustainability frameworks. Based on these findings, we develop a framework linking disruptions, challenges, opportunities, and data needs to support decision-making and preparedness. Although focused on Australia, the findings provide transferable insights for strengthening resilience and sustainability in seafood supply chains globally.