High Liner Foods
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 8 sources
Canadian maker of frozen breaded and battered fish and seafood.
High Liner Foods' supply chain was linked to forced labour in 2024, which it has only partly acted on, and it has no full independent audit.
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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, unaudited production 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 2024) was a link through a supplier, which the company has only partly acted on.
- 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 China 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: Made mostly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
- 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
High Liner Foods says it makes products in Canada and the United States. Press and retailer reports name China. The rest is shown as where fish and seafood are usually processed.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| ThailandUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Canada | Regular violations | About a living wage | Low |
| United States | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Low |
| 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
- Modern slavery statement
- 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 High Liner runs three plants, in Lunenburg (Nova Scotia), Portsmouth (New Hampshire) and Newport News (Virginia), and buys seafood from suppliers in Asia, Europe, South America and Africa without naming countries, plants, boats or the share made in its own plants. It bought a processing plant in China with Icelandic Group's Asian business in 2011. Suppliers are audited through SEDEX on a risk basis, with unannounced SMETA audits since 2024, but no crew checks or certification covering most of the range are reported.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Problem found | Records High Liner's October 2023 response to the Outlaw Ocean Uyghur forced labour investigation, saying it stopped buying from Yantai Sanko Fisheries. View |
| KnowTheChain | Not covered | High Liner Foods is not among the 45 companies assessed in the 2026 KnowTheChain food and beverage benchmark. View |
Confirmed issues 2
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? |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Link through a supplierThe Outlaw Ocean Project reported in 2024 that Dalian Haiqing Food, a Chinese processor High Liner had been associated with, employed 50 to 70 North Korean workers, labour US law treats as forced (SeafoodSource, 2024). Source · archived copy | PartlyHigh Liner suspended business with Dalian Haiqing and investigated; it said audits found no forced labour. No remedy for workers reported. |
| 2023 | Link through a supplierHigh Liner's Chinese supplier Yantai Sanko Fisheries was named in a 2023 Outlaw Ocean Project report on Chinese seafood processors using Uyghur forced labour, and Albertsons stopped buying High Liner flounder and sole (SeafoodSource, 2023). Source · archived copyActed on The company has acted on this link, so it no longer counts against the grade. | YesHigh Liner stopped buying from Yantai Sanko in October 2023, citing caution, and began unannounced audits in China; no remedy for workers reported. |
Sources and actions
Sources 8
Show all 8 sources
- High Liner Foods response to Uyghur forced labour and migrant worker abuse in seafood supply chains (BHRRC) · search the archive · 20 Oct 2023 response: Yantai Sanko audited Dec 2022 and Aug 2023; High Liner no longer doing business with it
- 2026 KnowTheChain Food and Beverage Benchmark (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre) · search the archive · 45 companies assessed; High Liner Foods not included
- Albertsons drops High Liner products after bombshell labor report (SeafoodSource, 2023) · archived copy · Yantai Sanko named in Outlaw Ocean report on Uyghur forced labour; High Liner cut ties; Albertsons stopped buying its flounder and sole
- Trident, High Liner, Sysco cut ties with Chinese companies tied to North Korean labor (SeafoodSource, 2024) · archived copy · Dalian Haiqing employed 50-70 North Korean workers per Outlaw Ocean; High Liner suspended business and was investigating
- High Liner summary report (SeaChoice, 2023) · search the archive · Prioritises MSC, ASC and BAP seafood; supplier code and risk-based SEDEX audits; no labour findings reported
Published by High Liner Foods or its owner
- High Liner Foods 2025 Supply Chain Transparency Report · search the archive · Own plants in Lunenburg NS, Portsmouth NH and Newport News VA; suppliers in Asia, Europe, South America and Africa; SEDEX and unannounced SMETA audits
- High Liner Foods Modern Slavery Report 2023 · search the archive · In 2023 suspended and then ended agreements with suppliers facing forced labour allegations after a special audit
- High Liner Foods to acquire Icelandic Group's U.S. and Asian operations (2011) · search the archive · Acquisition included Asian procurement operations and subsidiaries running a processing plant in China
Company details
- Headquarters
- Canada
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is High Liner Foods ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/high-liner, 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
Nothing we've rated in frozen fish and seafood is better than Lacks transparency yet.
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Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent High Liner Foods.