Sea Best
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 5 sources
US frozen shrimp and fish brand of Beaver Street Fisheries in Florida.
Sea Best can't show that the workers who make its products in Indonesia and India 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 1 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 3 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, a hidden, unaudited supply chain 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 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 China and Thailand, 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
- 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 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
Sea Best says it makes products in the United States. Product labels show Indonesia and China. Press and retailer reports name India. The rest is shown as where fish and seafood are usually processed.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| ThailandUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Indonesia | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| India | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| United States | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Low |
| 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 Sea Best is the retail brand of Beaver Street Fisheries, a Jacksonville importer that repacks and processes frozen seafood in its own US plant and owns Tropic Seafood, a lobster processor in the Bahamas. Retail packs show shrimp from Indonesia and tilapia from China, and the company works on farmed shrimp in Andhra Pradesh, India. Some lines carry BAP, MSC or ASC labels, but it publishes no supplier or vessel list, no labour policy and no independent crew or farm worker checks. The Outlaw Ocean Project contacted it in 2023 over a Chinese squid fishery project and recorded no reply.
Sources and actions
Sources 5
Show all 5 sources
- Outlaw Ocean Project correspondence with Beaver Street Fisheries (2023) · search the archive · 2018 squid fishery improvement project with Chinese firm Shantou Haimao; inquiry in July 2023 with no recorded reply
- Beaver Street Fisheries (FishChoice profile) · search the archive · Jacksonville importer, manufacturer and distributor; Sea Best retail brand since 1979; Tropic Seafood in the Bahamas; BAP, MSC and ASC certificate numbers
- Sea Best Shrimp, Raw 32 oz (Bashas via Instacart) · search the archive · Product of Indonesia; BAP certified
- Sea Best Tilapia Fillets (Brookshire's) · search the archive · Farm raised, product of China
- Beaver Street Fisheries (FishWise AquaScape) · search the archive · Vertically integrated supply chain with on-site and offshore processing; farmed shrimp initiative in Andhra Pradesh, India; no labour commitments listed
Company details
- Owned by
- Beaver Street Fisheries
- Headquarters
- United States
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Sea Best ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/sea-best, 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 Sea Best.