A leading industry group had urge supermarkets, restaurants, and other businesses to step up their efforts to eradicate human and labor rights abuses from their supply chains, following investigations that uncovered forced labor in the seafood sectors of India, China, and North Korea.
On Thursday, the US-based NGO, The Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions, released “The Guidance for Companies on Environmentally and Socially Responsible Seafood.” This document aims to help businesses initiate or accelerate their efforts to remove such abuses from their operations.
The guidance is crucial for achieving the Alliance’s 2030 goal, which targets at least 75% of global seafood production to be environmentally responsible or to demonstrate verifiable improvements, with additional measures to ensure social responsibility.
The document provides companies with a toolkit and checklists based on globally recognized frameworks to help identify, assess, and mitigate human rights and environmental risks in their operations and supply chains.
Founded in 2008, the Alliance has over 150 members, including major corporations like Bumble Bee and Nestle Purina, NGOs, and experts in environmental and human rights from 30 countries. In North America, more than 20 of the top 25 retailers such as Costco, Kroger, Target, and Aldi are engaged in sustainable seafood partnerships with non-profits within the Alliance.
