Aqua Star
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 11 sources
Seattle-based importer selling frozen shrimp and seafood in the US.
Aqua Star's supply chain was linked to forced labour in 2015, and workers in Indonesia are very unlikely to earn a living wage.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 0 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 4 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, a hidden, unaudited supply chain in high-risk countries, forced or child labour and fish and seafood it can't trace to the boat or farm. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record: the most serious problem on its record (forced labour link, last recorded in 2015) is more than 5 years old.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
Good requirements 0 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsMost of its products are made in countries such as Indonesia and Thailand, where unions are heavily restricted, and it has no full supply chain audit.
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Not met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Not met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that list
- Not met: Traces its catch to the boat or farm and has crews' or farm workers' conditions checked independently
Red flags 4
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Hidden supply chain, mostly in countries with poor worker rights
- Red flag: Forced, slave or child labour found in or linked to its supply chain
- Red flag: Relies on fish and seafood it can't trace to the boat or farmShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 3 red flags that set it.
- Red flag: Fails its category's raw-material check (means Lacks transparency)
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
From press and retailer reports; Aqua Star doesn't say where its products are made. The rest is shown as where fish and seafood are usually processed.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indonesia | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| ThailandUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| ChinaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| AustraliaUsual for the industry | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| EcuadorUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| NorwayUsual for the industry | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: fishing fleets and processing plants have some of the worst documented forced labour, including trafficked crews held at sea for years.
- Relies on fish and seafood from fishing boats and farms, where crews and farm workers, often migrants recruited into debt, have been held for months or years, beaten and denied pay, out of reach of factory audits. It hasn't shown any steps to trace its fish and seafood to the boat or farm or have the conditions of the people who catch or farm it checked, so it's graded Lacks transparency until it does.
Research notes Aqua Star buys seafood from 17 countries but does not name its processing plants or the countries they are in. In 2025 it recalled shrimp amid an FDA investigation of shrimp processed by BMS Foods in Indonesia; AP traced Thai-peeled shrimp to it in 2015, and a 2026 lawsuit names an Indian supplier. Its supplier code is based on the ETI Base Code and it requires third-party social audits where customers ask for them, and it is a Seafood Task Force member, but it publishes no supplier, farm or vessel list and reports no independent checks of crews or farm workers. Its shrimp is at least BAP 2-star certified.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| News reporting and NGO investigations | Listed | Scored 41 in SeaChoice's Seafood Progress assessment of 2023 data, against an average of 66; no public reporting on social responsibility was found. View |
| KnowTheChain | Not covered | Aqua Star is not among the companies in the 2026 KnowTheChain food and beverage benchmark. View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | The US Department of Labor lists shrimp from Thailand and India as produced with forced labour. View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | The US Department of Labor lists fish from Indonesia for child and forced labour, and from China and Taiwan's distant-water fleets for forced labour. View |
Confirmed issues 1
Only confirmed problems are listed, and old ones drop off after 10 to 15 years. A problem the company has fully put right no longer counts against it, and nor does one it finds and is fixing itself. How problems are counted
| Last recorded | What happened | Made amends? |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Link through a supplierAn AP investigation in 2015 found migrant workers held in slavery peeling shrimp at the Gig shed in Samut Sakhon, Thailand, and used US customs records to trace shrimp from the shed through Thai exporters to more than 40 US brands, including Aqua Star (AP, 2015). Source · search the archive | Not knownAqua Star's CEO told AP he wanted to eliminate the problem; no specific action or remedy for workers was reported. |
Unconfirmed reports
Credible reports that haven't been confirmed by a regulator, completed investigation or the company. They're shown for your information and don't affect the grade.
- In March 2026 Corporate Accountability Lab and Toxin Free USA sued Aqua Star in Washington, DC, saying its 'responsibly sourced' shrimp claims mislead shoppers because it buys directly from India's Nekkanti Sea Foods, reported to show multiple indicators of forced labour; the case is pending (Corporate Accountability Lab, 2026). Source
- In October 2026 US shrimpers asked the US International Trade Commission to block shrimp made with forced labour at Nekkanti Sea Foods, which Aqua Star buys from, citing guarded hostels, curfews and sub-minimum pay at its Andhra Pradesh plants; the ITC decides by 27 November whether to investigate (Corporate Accountability Lab, 2026). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 11
Show all 11 sources
- AP: Global supermarkets selling shrimp peeled by slaves (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2015) · search the archive · Summary of the December 2015 AP investigation and company responses
- 2026 KnowTheChain food and beverage benchmark (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre) · search the archive · Aqua Star not among the companies assessed
- AquaStar (USA) Corp recalls Kroger and AquaStar frozen shrimp (FDA, 2025) · search the archive · September 2025 recall over possible Cs-137 contamination; FDA investigating shrimp processed by BMS Foods of Indonesia
- List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor: shrimp (US Department of Labor) · search the archive · Shrimp from Thailand and India listed for forced labour
- List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor: fish (US Department of Labor) · search the archive · Fish from Indonesia listed for child and forced labour; China and Taiwan distant-water fleets for forced labour
- AP: Global supermarkets selling shrimp peeled by slaves (Manufacturing.net, 2015) · search the archive · Customs records linked shrimp from the Gig peeling shed in Samut Sakhon, Thailand, to over 40 US brands including Aqua Star; CEO Dirk Leuenberger's response
- Radioactive shrimp, alleged supplier labor abuses at center of lawsuit against AquaStar (Undercurrent News, 2026) · search the archive · Trade press report of the lawsuit against Seattle-based AquaStar (USA) Corp
- Greater traceability, responsibility helping seafood companies manage risks (SeafoodSource, 2026) · search the archive · Aqua Star sources from 17 countries; member of the Seafood Task Force; internal audits on some supply chains
- Corporate Accountability Lab sues Aqua Star for false advertising of its 'responsibly sourced' shrimp (2026) · search the archive · March 2026 DC consumer protection suit; alleges direct sourcing from Nekkanti Sea Foods in India; sold at Target, Kroger, Safeway and other US stores
- Aqua Star summary report (SeaChoice Seafood Progress) · search the archive · Score 41 vs average 66 (2023 data); shrimp at least BAP 2-star; some MSC and ASC products; ETI-based supplier code; third-party social audits as customers require
- Section 337 case at the International Trade Commission seeks to end forced labor in Indian shrimp supply chain (Corporate Accountability Lab, 2026) · search the archive · US shrimpers' ITC complaint names Nekkanti Sea Foods, Eastern Fish, ALDI, Meijer and Ahold Delhaize; alleges forced labour at Nekkanti's plants
Company details
- Headquarters
- United States
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Aqua Star ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/aqua-star, last researched 23 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Other frozen fish and seafood brands
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