Nautilus
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 8 sources
Thai canned tuna brand owned by Bangkok cannery Pataya Food Industries.
There's no proof Nautilus pays more than the legal minimum, which in Thailand is below a living wage, and it has no full independent audit.
Know something we've missed? Send evidence. Represent Nautilus? Send a right of reply.
Compare Nautilus with another brand
Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 2 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 3 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, unaudited production in high-risk countries 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 2 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 Thailand and China, 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
- 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 wage
- Red flag: Made mostly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of 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 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
From Nautilus's own disclosure: it makes its products in its own factories. Its list covers only part of its range. The rest is shown as where fish and seafood are usually processed.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand | 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 Nautilus tuna is canned by its owner, Pataya Food Industries, at its cannery in Samut Sakhon, Thailand. An ISSF audit of 2025 found Pataya traces products back to the vessel and trip and has a public social and labour standards policy, but no vessel list is published and no independent checks of crews are reported. Nautilus is not MSC certified; in 2019 the company said full chain of custody was too costly without a price premium. Greenpeace rated it only fair in 2020. It reported no longline tuna and no Indian Ocean yellowfin purchases in 2025. It is sold in Asia and Europe, not Australia.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| News reporting and NGO investigations | Problem found | Rated 'fair', the middle tier, in Greenpeace Southeast Asia's 2020 tuna cannery ranking, which scored labour and modern slavery measures. View |
Sources and actions
Sources 8
Show all 8 sources
- Greenpeace demands sustainability and due diligence on human rights for tuna industries in Southeast Asia (Greenpeace, 2020) · search the archive · 2020 ranking assessed traceability and forced labour measures at 20 canneries including Nautilus; most lacked crew grievance channels
- Tuna factory cases 'old news' (Bangkok Post, 2021) · search the archive · Pataya Food Group's canned tuna factory in Samut Sakhon makes Nautilus and Nautilus Light
- Southeast Asia's tuna canneries urged to eliminate modern slavery at sea (Eco-Business, 2020) · search the archive · Pataya Foods' Nautilus rated 'fair' in Greenpeace Southeast Asia's 2020 ranking of 20 tuna canneries
- Nautilus Food (Vietnam) / Member of Pataya Food Group (Tuoi Tre jobs) · search the archive · Nautilus is sold through marketing centres in Thailand, Vietnam, France and China; Australia not named
- Pataya Food Industries Ltd. exhibitor profile (Interzoo) · search the archive · Bangkok-based seafood cannery founded 1979 that owns the Nautilus tuna brand; makes canned tuna and pet food in its own factory
- Pataya Food Industries Ltd. Final Compliance Report for activities in 2025 (ISSF) · search the archive · Address in Samut Sakhon; conforms on traceability to vessel and trip and on a public social and labour policy; no Indian Ocean yellowfin in 2025; one minor reporting lapse
- Pataya Food Industries Ltd. Final Compliance Report (ISSF page) · search the archive · Pataya is an ISSF participating company; report issued June 2026
- Nautilus brand on sustainability pressure (IntraFish, 2019) · search the archive · Nautilus explored MSC certification and pole-and-line sourcing but found full chain of custody too costly without a price premium
Company details
- Headquarters
- Thailand
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Nautilus ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/nautilus, 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 Nautilus.