Gomes da Costa
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 7 sources
Brazilian canned sardine and tuna brand owned by Spain's Nauterra (Calvo).
Until Gomes da Costa traces its fish and seafood to the boat or farm and has the conditions of the people who catch or farm it checked independently, it can't show that they are free and fairly paid.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 2 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It relies on fish and seafood that it can't trace to the boat or farm. That alone means a poor grade until it takes steps to trace it and check the conditions of the people who catch or farm it.
- 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 2 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 Brazil, Thailand and China.
- 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
- Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listMakes its products in its own factories
- Not met: Traces its catch to the boat or farm and has crews' or farm workers' conditions checked independently
Red flags 2
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Relies on fish and seafood it can't trace to the boat or farm
- 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. Gomes da Costa makes its products in its own factories, but we haven't recorded its countries from it yet. The rest is shown as where fish and seafood are usually processed.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | Systematic violations | 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 |
| 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.
- Owns or runs its own production
- 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 Gomes da Costa is made at owner Nauterra's own factories in Itajaí, Santa Catarina, alongside its own packaging plant; Nauterra's only other plants are in Spain and El Salvador. About 92% of direct fish suppliers to its factories are local, and 206 fishing boats are registered as suppliers, 86 of them based in Itajaí, but the list is not published and tracing all fish to source was still a 2025 target. Its tuna includes skipjack from Brazil's pole-and-line fleet. All fish suppliers have signed the amfori code of conduct, but no independent checks of crews on the Brazilian boats are reported. It is sold mainly in Brazil and South America.
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Nauterra amplia compras de pescados locais e fortalece cadeia de fornecedores em Itajaí (SuperVarejo) · search the archive · Nauterra, owner of Gomes da Costa, runs food and packaging factories in Itajaí; 91.52% of direct fish suppliers local; 206 vessels registered (86 in Itajaí); 100% of fish suppliers signed amfori code
- ¿Calvo cerró su fábrica de Esteiro para pasar su producción a Marruecos? (Maldita.es, Sept 2026) · search the archive · Nauterra's own factories are in Carballo (Spain), La Unión (El Salvador) and Itajaí (Brazil); Moroccan partners make Calvo sardines and mackerel
- Nauterra alcanza nuevos máximos en facturación y ebitda (Alimarket, May 2026) · search the archive · Brazil is Nauterra's largest market; Gomes da Costa grew in tuna and sardines; 5,454 group employees end-2025
- Gomes da Costa launches Friend of the Sea certified tuna (World Fishing) · search the archive · Gomes da Costa tuna line from skipjack and yellowfin caught by Brazil's pole-and-line fishery, boats tracked by VMS
- Gomes da Costa: práticas sustentáveis (Giro News, 2023) · search the archive · Calvo group 'Compromisso Responsável' targets for 2025 include 100% of fish traced at source and 100% sustainable tuna
- Moção de repúdio, Câmara de Vereadores de Itajaí (Câmara dos Deputados, 2025) · search the archive · Itajaí and Navegantes canneries rely on Brazil's sardine catch, which met over 90% of canned sardine demand in 2024
- Sardinha e atum em busca de novos mercados (Mundo do Marketing, 2008) · search the archive · Gomes da Costa has a factory in Brazil and exports to Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia and Angola
Company details
- Headquarters
- Brazil
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Gomes da Costa ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/gomes-da-costa, last researched 23 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Other canned and pouched fish brands
Nothing we've rated in canned and pouched fish is better than Lacks transparency yet.
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Gomes da Costa.