Sarangani Bay
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 7 sources
Philippine milkfish brand of Alsons Aquaculture, sold frozen and smoked.
Sarangani Bay can't show that the workers who make its products in the Philippines earn a living wage, which workers there are very unlikely to.
Also worth knowing
It has no full independent audit.
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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 the Philippines, 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 Sarangani Bay's own disclosure: it makes its products in its own factories.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philippines | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
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 Sarangani Bay milkfish is bred, farmed and processed in the Philippines by Alsons Aquaculture, which runs a hatchery, sea cages and brackish ponds in Southern Mindanao (nearly 7,000 tonnes a year) and two processing plants in Mindanao and one in the Visayas. It has also sought to buy fish from independent growers in Iloilo, so not all fish come from its own farms. It exports over half its output to the US, Canada, the Middle East, Europe, Australia and Asia. It publishes no labour policy, certifications, audits or worker data, and no information on conditions at its farms or plants.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | The US Department of Labor lists seafood from the Philippines as produced with child or forced labour. View |
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Seafood fact sheet: child labor and forced labor in seafood production (US Department of Labor, ILAB) · search the archive · Lists the Philippines among countries with documented child or forced labour in seafood production
- China receives 1st shipment of Phl bangus (Philippine Star, March 2012) · Alsons Aquaculture hatches, raises and processes milkfish at its 320-hectare farm and on-site plant in Alabel, Sarangani; first Sarangani Bay export shipment to Xiamen
- Alsons Aquaculture allocates PHP 200 million for Sarangani expansion (Aqua Asia Pacific, 2023) · search the archive · Alcantara group's Alsons Aquaculture farms nearly 7,000 t under Sarangani Bay in sea cages and ponds; two plants in Mindanao, one in the Visayas; exports to US, Canada, Middle East, Europe, Australia
- Bangus producer to expand markets in MidEast (Manila Times, 2017) · search the archive · Alsons Aquaculture is the largest milkfish breeder, processor and exporter, selling under the Sarangani Bay trademark
- SURGE Iloilo bangus market forum news bits (July 2017) · search the archive · Alsons sought milkfish from Iloilo growers for its plants in Roxas and General Santos; exports about 270 t of processed milkfish a month
- Sarangani Bay Rellenong Bangus Frozen 1 lb (Weee!) · search the archive · Sarangani Bay frozen milkfish sold at US retail; country of origin Philippines
- Sarangani Bay Boneless Bangus Milkfish Belly 450 g (FairPrice) · search the archive · Sarangani Bay milkfish sold at FairPrice supermarkets in Singapore
Company details
- Headquarters
- Philippines
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Sarangani Bay ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/sarangani-bay, 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 Sarangani Bay.