Nissui
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 9 sources
Japanese seafood group selling frozen foods, surimi and canned fish.
Until Nissui 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 1 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: the most serious problem on its record (forced labour link, last recorded in 2023) was a link through a supplier, which the company has 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 1 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, other than one it has put rightIts supply chain was linked to forced labour in 2023, which it has since acted on. That's listed below and no longer counts against the grade.
- 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, mostly in countries with poor worker rights
- 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
Nissui says it makes products in Japan. Its parent group's figures name Thailand. 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 |
| Japan | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| 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 Nissui-branded frozen foods, surimi and canned fish are made at its own plants and group companies in Japan, with mass production at Thai Delmar in Thailand. Its overseas subsidiaries (Gorton's, King & Prince and UniSea in the US, Cité Marine in France, Sealord in New Zealand, salmon farms in Chile and Denmark) make other brands and are not counted here. It buys 85% of the 2.76 million tonnes of seafood it handles from outside the group, and 29% is MSC certified. It publishes no vessel or supplier list, its own survey found species mismatches in fish from India and South East Asia, and no independent crew checks are reported.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| News reporting and NGO investigations | Listed | Ranked 16th of 30 in the World Benchmarking Alliance's 2023 Seafood Stewardship Index, scoring 23.9/100 and 8.2/40 on social responsibility. View |
| KnowTheChain | Not covered | Nissui is not among the companies assessed in the 2026 KnowTheChain food and beverage benchmark. View |
| News reporting and NGO investigations | Problem found | In 2023 the Outlaw Ocean Project linked Nissui subsidiary Cité Marine to a Chinese pollock processor that took in Uyghur workers; Cité Marine stopped buying from it. 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? |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Link through a supplierThe Outlaw Ocean Project reported in 2023 that Nissui subsidiary Cité Marine bought Alaska pollock from Qingdao Tianyuan Aquatic Products, a Chinese processor that received workers from Xinjiang under a state labour transfer programme (SeafoodSource, 2023). Source · archived copyActed on The company has acted on this link, so it no longer counts against the grade. | YesCité Marine commissioned an unannounced SMETA audit, which found no Uyghur workers, and stopped buying from the plant as a precaution. |
Sources and actions
Sources 9
Show all 9 sources
- Seafood industry cuts ties to Chinese firms accused of using Uyghur labor (SeafoodSource, 2023) · archived copy · Nissui subsidiary Cité Marine sourced pollock from Qingdao Tianyuan, which received Xinjiang workers; SMETA audit; stopped sourcing
- Outlaw Ocean Project unveils extensive evidence of Uyghur forced labor in US seafood supply chain (SeafoodSource, 2023) · search the archive · Cité Marine commissioned an audit and ceased sourcing from a factory named in the report
- 2023 Seafood Stewardship Index rankings (World Benchmarking Alliance) · search the archive · Nissui 16th, 23.9/100, social responsibility 8.2/40
- 2026 KnowTheChain food and beverage benchmark · search the archive · Nissui not among companies assessed
- Nissui spending JPY 17 billion to expand fish finger processing capacity (SeafoodSource, 2024) · search the archive · New Gorton's plant in Indiana, US; Keranna Productions plant in France expanding
Published by Nissui or its owner
- Results of the Third Survey of Procured Marine Resources Sustainability (Nissui, 2024) · search the archive · 2.76 million t handled; 29% MSC certified; 85% procured from outside the group; species mismatches found in fish from India and South East Asia
- Our Business (Nissui) · search the archive · Processing subsidiaries in the US, France, UK and Thailand; salmon farming in Chile and Denmark; fishing in Chile, Australia and New Zealand
- Value chain (Nissui) · search the archive · Plants in France (Cité Marine); UniSea and Gorton's in the US; Sealord processing in New Zealand; Thai Delmar mass production in Thailand
- Group companies in Japan (Nissui) · search the archive · Nissui Hachioji Plant and many Japanese group companies doing seafood processing, food production and aquaculture
Company details
- Headquarters
- Japan
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Nissui ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/nissui, 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.
Something missing or wrong?
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