The Pew Charitable Trusts‰Ûª ending illegal fishing project is working to ensure a sustainable future for our oceans by combatting illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. As unscrupulous operators seek to maximize profits by exploiting fish stocks or loopholes in management they frequently pay little attention to the safety and working conditions for vessel crews. Fortunately, the seafood industry can implement tools that help tackle these issues together. Pew is bringing together stakeholders from governments, authorities, and the seafood industry, to change behaviors and significantly reduce IUU fishing by improving the oversight and knowledge of fishing activities. An element of this includes entry into force of the International Maritime Organization‰Ûªs Cape Town Agreement (CTA), an international treaty which sets minimum safety standards and inspection criteria for fishing vessels. Harmonized implementation of the CTA, alongside the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations‰Ûª Agreement Port State Measures, which aims to prevent illegally caught fish from entering ports, and the International Labour Organization‰Ûªs Work in Fishing Convention, which establishes the base requirement for decent working and living conditions on board ships, will reap rewards. The seafood industry is in a unique position to help, it can advocate for governments to put such policies in place. By mandating that vessels can be uniquely identified and tracked, catch subject to port controls and transshipment activity monitored, tracking and tracing the people and product in supply chains should be possible. By doing this opportunities for the exploitation of fisheries and fishers will be reduced.
Region: Southern Asia
Human Rights at Sea International
Human Rights at Sea International Limited (HRASi) is a registered trading subsidiary of the independent maritime charity Human Rights at Sea. It provides discreet consulting services to the global community on maritime human rights issues and 20% of all of our fees go to support our parent charity. HRASi services include Social Licence to Operate design, implementation and maintenance services.
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) is a business-focused NGO working to create information tools and methodology to allow companies to directly engage with seafood suppliers. SFP operates through two main principles: information and improvement. SFP has created a database called FishSource of fisheries and aquaculture areas which contains assessments of sustainability and improvement needs. SFP helps seafood companies engage with fisheries by creating FIPs and AIPs to work together with multi-stakeholder groups for the creation and implementation of improvement plans. SFP is also collaborating with Seafish and Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program to create a risk assessment tool for social responsibility in fisheries.
Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF)
EJF conducts detailed field-based investigations, coupled with extensive background research to inform high-level advocacy directed at policy makers and key industry stake-holders. In some circumstances, EJF will provide specialist training and support, both to Government and civil society. We work in collaboration with a diverse range of stake-holders.
Solidarity Center
The Solidarity Center is the largest U.S.-based international worker rights organization helping workers attain safe and healthy workplaces, family-supporting wages, dignity on the job and greater equity at work and in their community. Allied with the AFL-CIO and working with 400-plus labor unions, NGOs, human rights defenders and community groups, the Solidarity Center assists workers across the globe as, together, they fight discrimination, exploitation and the systems that entrench poverty. It supports programs‰ÛÓe.g., trainings, education campaigns, legal aid, research and transparency initiative‰ÛÓthat help workers understand and exercise their rights, improve their working and living conditions, and build independent unions, including in the fishing and seafood sectors. The Solidarity Center has issued several publications on the fish and seafood sector, including: The Plight of Shrimp-Processing Workers of Southwestern Bangladesh (2012), Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Human Trafficking and Exploitation of Migrant Fishing Boat Workers in Thailand (2009), and The True Cost of Shrimp (2008).
Human Rights at Sea
Human Rights at Sea‰Ûª mission is to explicitly raise awareness, implementation and accountability of human rights provisions throughout the maritime environment, especially where they are currently absent, ignored or being abused. We promote human rights (as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent United Nations conventions and declarations) for seafarers, fishermen and others involved in working at sea throughout the world by all or any of the following means: 1. Increasing global awareness of the explicit requirement for protection of, respect for and provision of effective remedies for human rights abuses at sea through international advocacy, the publishing of case studies and where applicable, the provision of teaching materials. 2. Contributing to the international development of effective, enforceable and accountable remedies for human rights abuses at sea. 3. Investigating and monitoring abuses of Human Rights at Sea. 4. Developing the 2011 UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights in the maritime environment.5. Commenting on and supporting proposed national and international human rights legislation, policies and best practice, where applicable. Human Rights at Sea has been a member of the UN Global Compact since 2014.
Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB)
IHRB are an international think tank who work to improve and support business and government engagement with international standards relating to business and human rights. We have a dedicated programme on Migrant Workers and have produced a number of tools for business including the Dhaka Principles for Migration With Dignity which are used and referenced by many stakeholders globally. We have a particular focus on Responsible Recruitment and in particular the payment by many migrant workers of recruitment fees to secure employment abroad – these payments often leaving them in situations of debt bondage (an indicator of forced labour). Instead we promote The Employer Pays Principle – No worker should pay for a job. The costs of recruitment should be borne not by the worker but by the employer. IHRB also have experience across a range of other issues affecting workers and businesses.
Liberty Shared
Liberty Shared aims to prevent human trafficking through: strategic research: capture and application of information and data: legal advocacy: technological interventions: and strategic collaborations with NGOs, corporations, and financial institutions. Liberty Shared is using its systemic approach to combat slavery and environmental crimes in the fishing industry. This is done by: using research of industry structure and dynamics and the support of the financial sector: sharing key counter-trafficking data and best practices with strategic partners and industry, and channeling intelligence on slavery activities with the corporate community: championing legal and regulatory developments that obligate industry responses to receipt of new information, and improving the understanding of victim identification and protection: creating slavery education and awareness programs to enact change in all sectors of society: collaboration with database providers in the financial sector to share information relevant to anti-money laundering risk and compliance.
Winrock International
In Bangladesh, Winrock works with civil society organizations to build their capacity to raise awareness and advocate for addressing the health risks of fish-drying factories. Winrock also works with CSOs to identify and promote alternative livelihoods and opportunities for vulnerable families and children to reduce the prevalence of child labor in the dried fish sector. In Cambodia, Winrock raises awareness on safe migration and improves livelihoods through resources and training to those who might otherwise be lured into servitude on fishing vessels. Winrock and its partners also work to ensure survivors of trafficking from fishing vessels receive holistic care, reintegration services, and competent legal assistance as they pursue compensation. In Thailand, Winrock has recently partnered with a multi-national corporation to reduce and prevent human trafficking in the Thai fishing sector through: better connectivity at sea, which will enable emergency response and workers‰Ûª voice; development of response protocols that are expected to be implemented throughout the industry, as well as promoting ethical labor recruitment practices. Finally, Winrock is engaging the Thai government in order to improve victim identification, assistance and strengthen complaint mechanisms.
SCS Global Services
Innovative fishery managers, aquaculture producers, supply chain companies, governments and advocacy groups are leading the global seafood market toward sustainable best practices. SCS Global Services was the first certifier to issue a Marine Stewardship Council certificate in 1999 and performs work focused on social and environmental assessment. We provide a global diversity of clients with consulting and auditing services related to marine capture fisheries (Marine Stewardship Council, Fair Trade USA Capture Fisheries Standard), aquaculture production (Aquaculture Stewardship Council), Chain of Custody and improvement projects. We would be pleased to provide tailored consulting services including risk assessment, second party audits, supply chain mapping, stakeholder engagement and facilitation, or helping you to generate sustainability frameworks, procurement policies or other internal or external reporting tools. Examples of SCS seafood clients and projects can be found here: https://www.scsglobalservices.com/certified-clients/sustainable-seafood-certificates
FishWise
FishWise promotes the health and recovery of ocean ecosystems by providing innovative market-based tools to the seafood industry, supporting sustainability through environmentally and socially responsible business practices. For more than fifteen years, FishWise has worked closely with the seafood industry to foster leadership in sustainability. We believe that the seafood industry not only has serious impacts on the health of oceans and the welfare of its workers, but also the potential to make an enormous contribution to the health of our planet and its inhabitants. FishWise works by advancing private sector leadership, building multi-stakeholder collaboration, and producing research and knowledge. ADVANCING PRIVATE SECTOR LEADERSHIP: FishWise partners with the seafood industry to achieve some of the most ambitious responsible seafood commitments. Currently this includes partnerships with large national and regional retailers, along with independent grocery stores and mid-supply chain and producer companies. As a growing but still nimble organization, FishWise is selective in the projects it takes on, in order to maximize its capacity and ability to deliver results. BUILDING COLLABORATION AND KNOWLEDGE: FishWise sparks learning and innovation by convening government, industry, and nonprofit organizations to create new strategies for improving traceability and combating human rights abuses in seafood supply chains. We are a go-to resource for best practices, tools, and approaches recommended by diverse experts in the field. With marine and social scientists and data analysts on staff, and through strategic academic affiliations, FishWise translates leading-edge scientific information into pragmatic recommendations for a range of seafood stakeholders.
SAI Global
SAI Global can help develop a focused seafood safety, social, and sustainability program consistent with your customer, regulatory and CSR goals. We provide a range of standard certification, training, supply chain mapping, FIP measurement and social accountability audit and score card solutions tailored to business needs and supply chain expectations.