Pacific Seafood
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 5 sources
Family-owned US seafood processor and distributor based in Oregon.
Pacific Seafood publishes no certification, independent audit or supplier list.
Also worth knowing
Its supply chain was linked to forced labour in 2023.
Know something we've missed? Send evidence. Represent Pacific Seafood? Send a right of reply.
Compare Pacific Seafood with another brand
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, a hidden supply chain, 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 2023) was a link through a supplier, not a finding against the company itself.
- 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 rightsJudged on where its products are made: worker rights are poorly protected in the United States, Thailand and China.
- 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 wageShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 2 red flags that set it.
- Red flag: Hidden supply chain: no certification, independent audits or supplier list
- 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 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
Pacific Seafood names some of the countries it makes in: the United States and Canada. The rest is shown as where fish and seafood are usually processed.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Low |
| Canada | Regular violations | About a living wage | Low |
| 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.
- 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 Pacific Seafood fishes, processes and distributes seafood from more than 40 facilities in the US (including, since 2024, three plants in Kodiak, Alaska) and Canada, with over 3,000 staff; it also imports seafood, including from China. It reports 67 species certified by MSC, ASC or BAP, but does not say what share of its range that covers, publishes no list of its overseas suppliers or vessels, and no independent crew or worker checks were found. Its corporate responsibility reports focus on environment and staff benefits, not human rights.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| News reporting and NGO investigations | Listed | Named by the Outlaw Ocean Project (2023-24) among US importers linked to Chinese seafood plants using North Korean labour. 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's 2023-24 China seafood investigation listed Pacific Seafood Group among US importers flagged for North Korean labour, and raised with it Dalian Haiqing Food's plants in Zhuanghe, Liaoning, where 50-70 North Korean workers were reported in December 2023. Source · search the archive | Not knownPacific Seafood said it uses no facilities with North Korean labour and promised a fuller investigation; no outcome has been published. |
Sources and actions
Sources 5
Show all 5 sources
- Importers - Bait to Plate (The Outlaw Ocean Project) · search the archive · Pacific Marketing Group / Pacific Seafood Group (US) listed as an importer flagged for North Korean labour
- Pacific Seafood Group - correspondence (The Outlaw Ocean Project) · search the archive · Concern over Dalian Haiqing Food plants in Zhuanghe with 50-70 North Korean workers in Dec 2023; Pacific denied use and promised to investigate
- Pacific Seafood Completes Acquisition of Trident's Kodiak Operations (Business Wire, 2024) · search the archive · Bought three Kodiak, Alaska processing plants; over 40 facilities across the US and Canada; more than 3,000 team members
- Pacific Seafood Releases Seventh Annual Corporate Social Responsibility Report (Business Wire, 2024) · search the archive · 67 certified species across MSC, ASC and BAP; no human rights content
Published by Pacific Seafood or its owner
- About Us - Pacific Seafood · search the archive · More than 3,000 team members, 40 facilities, operations in the US, Canada and Europe, involved from harvesting to processing and distribution
Company details
- Headquarters
- United States
- Employees
- About 3,000
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Pacific Seafood ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/pacific-seafood, 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?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Pacific Seafood.