Lerøy Seafood
Harm on record. Has recent confirmed harm to workers that it hasn't put right.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 11 sources
Norwegian seafood group farming salmon and trout and catching whitefish.
In 2021, a worker was killed in a crushing accident at Lerøy Seafood's whitefish plant, and police found it broke workplace safety law.
Also worth knowing
Lerøy Seafood has only partly put this right.
Know something we've missed? Send evidence. Represent Lerøy Seafood? Send a right of reply.
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Why it's graded Harm on record
- Not met: Meets 2 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 3 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, clear breaches of labour conditions and unaudited production in high-risk countries. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- Holds the grade back: It's Harm on record because of a serious confirmed problem from the last 5 years that it has only partly put right: deadly safety failure, last recorded in 2021.
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 rightsA confirmed problem counts against it: deadly safety failure, last recorded in 2021
- 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 3
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wageShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 2 red flags that set it.
- Red flag: Clear breaches of labour conditions
- Red flag: Made partly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
From Lerøy Seafood's own disclosure: it makes its products in its own factories.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norway | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| Sweden | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| Denmark | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| Finland | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| France | Regular violations | About a living wage | Low |
| Netherlands | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| Portugal | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| Spain | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| Italy | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| Türkiye | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Very high |
| United Kingdom | Regular violations | Close to 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
- Traces most of its fish and seafood to named fishing boats or farms
- Modern slavery statement
- It traces some of its catch or holds environmental labels such as MSC, ASC or BAP, but doesn't show both that its catch is traced to the boat or farm and that crews' or farm workers' conditions are checked independently. Source
Research notes Lerøy farms salmon and trout at its own sites in three Norwegian regions, catches whitefish with its own 10 trawlers and buys from over 600 Norwegian coastal vessels, processing in its own plants in Norway and in nine other European countries plus Shetland. All its farms are GLOBALG.A.P. or ASC certified (ASC covers about 60% of salmon capacity) and 87% of its wild catch was MSC certified in 2025, but no independent worker interviews or crew checks are reported. Its 2025 Transparency Act report found no actual human rights harms among more than 9,000 suppliers. It holds a 50% stake in Scottish Sea Farms. Fishing grounds include the North Sea.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| News reporting and NGO investigations | Problem found | Norwegian police found Lerøy breached the Working Environment Act over a worker's death at its Stamsund plant in 2021 and ordered a fine and compensation in 2023. 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? |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Worker Hussein Afzail was killed in a crushing accident at Lerøy Norway Seafoods' whitefish plant in Stamsund in February 2021; labour inspectors said the company failed on multiple fronts, and police found it breached the Working Environment Act and ordered a fine and compensation (IntraFish, 2021 and 2023). Source · archived copy | PartlyPolice found it breached the Working Environment Act and in 2023 ordered it to pay a fine and compensation; no wider changes are reported. |
Sources and actions
Sources 11
Show all 11 sources
- 14 måneder siden Laksefjord-brannen: Dette er status i saken (iLaks, 2020) · A contractor's worker died in a Jan 2019 fire at Lerøy-owned Laksefjord's smolt plant in Lebesby; Labour Inspectorate issued follow-up orders; police case still open in 2020
- Leroy Seafood ordered to pay fines and compensation for fatal accident at whitefish factory (IntraFish, 2023) · archived copy · Hussein Afzail died in a crushing accident at the Stamsund whitefish plant on 6 February 2021; police concluded Lerøy breached the Working Environment Act
- Circumstances of Leroy employee's death draws criticism from Norwegian labor inspectors (IntraFish, 2021) · search the archive · Labour inspectors said the company failed on multiple fronts in connection with the death
- Lerøy (Austral Fisheries international brands) · search the archive · Austral Fisheries is the exclusive distributor of Lerøy salmon in Australia
Published by Lerøy Seafood or its owner
- Lerøy Seafood Group Annual Report 2025 · search the archive · About 6,000 employees; farming in three Norwegian regions; 10 Norwegian wild-catch processing plants; Lerøy Havfisk's ten trawlers; 50% of Scottish Sea Farms
- Value chain (Lerøy Seafood) · search the archive · Own farms (Lerøy Aurora, Midt, Sjøtroll), own whitefish plants in Norway, and processing in Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, Turkey and Shetland
- About Lerøy · search the archive · Production and packaging plants in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, France, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Turkey and Shetland; about 6,000 employees; brands
- Lerøy Transparency Act Report 2025 · search the archive · Over 9,000 suppliers in 30+ countries; 91 followed up; no actual adverse impacts found; 10 trawlers and deliveries from 600+ coastal vessels; most staff under collective agreements
- Human rights (Lerøy Sustainability Library 2025) · search the archive · All fish farms GlobalGap or ASC certified and audited yearly by a third party; Transparency Act due diligence; no GRASP or worker interviews mentioned
- Certifications and licenses (Lerøy Sustainability Library 2025) · search the archive · MSC share of wild catch 87% in 2025 (96% in 2024); North Sea saithe lost MSC in 2025; 100% of farm sites GGAP or ASC
- Certifications farming (Lerøy Sustainability Library 2025) · search the archive · 60% of salmon production capacity ASC certified by end of 2025
Company details
- Headquarters
- Norway
- Employees
- About 6,000
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Lerøy Seafood ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/leroy, last researched 23 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Harm on record means
Better-graded salmon and farmed fish
No salmon and farmed fish brand selling new goods is Good yet. These are the strongest so far.
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Lerøy Seafood.