Calvo
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 11 sources
Spanish canned tuna and seafood brand of Nauterra, formerly Grupo Calvo.
Calvo publishes no certification, independent audit or supplier list.
Also worth knowing
There's no proof it pays more than the legal minimum, which in El Salvador and Brazil is below a living wage.
Other canned and pouched fish brands
Nothing we've rated in canned and pouched fish is better than Lacks transparency yet.
Know something we've missed? Send evidence. Represent Calvo? Send a right of reply.
Compare Calvo with another brand
Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 1 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 3 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, a hidden supply chain 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, because there's no serious confirmed problem on its record.
- 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 1 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsJudged on where its products are made: worker rights are poorly protected in El Salvador, Brazil and Thailand.
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- 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 3
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Hidden supply chain: no certification, independent audits or supplier list
- 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 2 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
These are Nauterra's countries across all its brands; Calvo doesn't say where its own products are made. The rest is shown as where fish and seafood are usually processed.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| El Salvador | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | High |
| Brazil | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Morocco | Regular violations | Well below a living wage | Low |
| 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 |
| IndonesiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | 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.
- Makes part of its range in its own factories
- 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 Calvo tuna is canned at owner Nauterra's own plants in Carballo, Spain, La Unión, El Salvador and Itajaí, Brazil, while sardines and mackerel are made by partners in Morocco. Nauterra's tuna seiners hold AENOR's APR certification, which checks crew conditions against ILO fishing rules, but it does not say what share of its tuna they catch or publish a vessel list; 31.8% of products could be traced online in 2022, and over 85% of tuna had MSC, APR or other certified origin. Suppliers must sign a BSCI-based code. In 2007 El Salvador's labour ministry found Calvo had unlawfully dismissed a union member at La Unión.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Problem found | Lists a 2007 IPS report that El Salvador's labour ministry found Calvo had unlawfully dismissed a union member at its La Unión plant and ordered her reinstatement. View |
Sources and actions
Sources 11
Show all 11 sources
- Spanish firm advocates, then breaks labour laws - El Salvador (IPS via Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2007) · search the archive · El Salvador labour ministry found Calvo unlawfully dismissed unionist Berta Menjívar and ordered reinstatement
- Letter to El Salvador Ministry of Labor on Calvo union (InterReligious Task Force on Central America, 2007) · Calvo cannery workers sought union registration in 2007; Calvo reportedly fired ~600 workers in 2006 and 300 in 2004 after a stoppage over working conditions
- La explotación la pintan Calvo (Público, 2012) · Citing a 2010 CEICOM report: women at Calvo's La Unión, El Salvador plant paid less than men, unpaid overtime, injuries, and dismissals and threats after workers organised in 2007
- Calvo cerró su fábrica de Esteiro para pasar su producción a Marruecos? (Maldita.es, Sept 2026) · search the archive · Nauterra (Grupo Calvo until 2023) has its own factories in Carballo (Spain), La Unión (El Salvador) and Itajaí (Brazil); sardines and mackerel made by third parties in Morocco
- Nauterra, dona da Calvo, registra receita de 765 milhões em 2025 (Portal Tela, May 2026) · search the archive · 5,454 employees end-2025; brands Calvo, Gomes da Costa, Nostromo; markets Brazil, Spain, Italy, Central America, Argentina; eight vessels incl. six tuna vessels
- Grupo Calvo cierra su planta de Esteiro y concentrará su actividad industrial en Carballo (Alimarket, 2017) · search the archive · Carballo the main European plant; El Salvador plant moved from cleaning loins into canning
- Grupo Calvo informe anual 2017 (Corresponsables) · search the archive · All seven tuna vessels APR certified, covering crew rights under ILO principles; BSCI-based supplier code; tuna origin of each can traceable
- Grupo Calvo: consecución objetivos sostenibilidad 2025 (Corresponsables, 2023) · search the archive · Over 85% of tuna with certified responsible origin incl. MSC and APR; 31.84% of products traceable online (2022)
- ODS16: Grupo Calvo sostenibilidad ambiental, social y de negocio (Corresponsables) · search the archive · 2020: over 60% of 106,000 tonnes of tuna certified (MSC, FIPs and others); entire tuna fleet APR certified; 80.4% of tuna suppliers signed supplier code
- Spanish tuna: sustainable from sea to can (World Fishing, 2019) · search the archive · AENOR APR standard (UNE 195006) covers ILO C188 working conditions for crews on Spanish tuna seiners
Published by Calvo or its owner
- Who are we (Calvo) · search the archive · Founded in Carballo in 1940; El Salvador factory built 2003; own fishing fleet since 1977; Nostromo and Gomes da Costa acquired
Company details
- Headquarters
- Spain
- Employees
- About 5,454
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Calvo ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/calvo, last researched 23 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Calvo.