Woolworths Seafood
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 7 sources
Woolworths' own-brand canned, frozen and fresh-packed seafood in Australia.
Woolworths Seafood's supply chain was linked to forced and child labour in 2015, which it has only partly acted on, and it has no full independent audit.
Other canned and pouched fish brands
Nothing we've rated in canned and pouched fish is better than Lacks transparency yet.
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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, unaudited production in high-risk countries, 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 and child labour link, last recorded in 2015) was a link through a supplier, which the company has only partly 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 0 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
- 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 wage
- Red flag: Made mostly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
- 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 3 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
Woolworths Seafood names some of the countries it makes in: Australia, China, Thailand and Vietnam. 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 |
| China | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Vietnam | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Australia | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| 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 |
| 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.
- Modern slavery statement
- 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 Woolworths' own-brand seafood comes from 48 direct suppliers; a 2025 traceability pilot covered processed seafood suppliers in Australia, China, Thailand and Vietnam. Its tuna, from the Western Pacific, must be traceable to the vessel for each batch and come from vessels on the ISSF Proactive Vessel Register, but no vessel or cannery list is published and crews are not independently checked. Its policy requires farmed seafood to be ASC, BAP or GlobalG.A.P. certified and wild seafood MSC certified or otherwise verified, without a published share. Issara worker voice tools cover its South-East Asian suppliers.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| KnowTheChain | Listed | Woolworths Group scored 56 out of 100 and ranked 1st of 45 companies in the 2026 KnowTheChain Food & Beverage Benchmark; its scorecard names no seafood findings. View |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | Covered by Woolworths Group's 2025 modern slavery statement, which names seafood its top food risk and tuna the top species risk, with 48 direct own-brand and fresh seafood suppliers. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Problem found | Answered the Resource Centre's 2020/21 Pacific canned tuna survey for its own-brand tuna, reporting audited offshore canneries and no modern slavery cases found since 2018. 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? |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Link through a supplierA 2015 Associated Press investigation found trafficked migrant workers, including children, forced to peel prawns at the Gig peeling shed supplying Thai Union; Woolworths confirmed Thai Union was one of its suppliers (SBS, 2015). Source · archived copy | PartlyWoolworths said it would investigate with Thai Union and seek advice from its NGO partners; no outcome or remedy for workers was reported. |
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Woolworths Group response to canned tuna human rights survey 2020/21 (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre) · search the archive · Own-brand tuna from the Pacific, mainly FAO 71; offshore seafood manufacturing sites audited; no modern slavery found since 2018
- 2026 KnowTheChain Food & Beverage Scorecard: Woolworths Group Limited · search the archive · Score 56/100, ranked 1st of 45 in 2026
- Coles, Woolies, Aldi probe Thailand 'slavery' link (SBS, 2015) · archived copy · AP found forced and child labour at Thai Union's Gig peeling factory; Woolworths uses Thai Union and said it would investigate
- Aussie supermarket prawns peeled by slaves (Food & Drink Business, 2015) · search the archive · Report that the Thai Union prawn factory supplied Woolworths, Coles and Aldi; chains investigating
Published by Woolworths Seafood or its owner
- Woolworths Group Modern Slavery Statement 2025 · search the archive · Seafood top food risk; 48 direct seafood suppliers; traceability pilot of processed seafood suppliers in Australia, China, Thailand and Vietnam; vessel tracing for tuna batches; Issara worker voice
- POL.059.02 Woolworths Group Seafood Sourcing Policy (June 2026) · search the archive · Own-brand farmed seafood must be ASC, BAP or GGN certified, wild MSC or verified; tuna vessels on ISSF Proactive Vessel Register; vessel traceability available on request
- Sustainable fish and seafood - Woolworths Group · search the archive · Own-brand products carry MSC and ASC labels; Woolworths smoked oysters ASC award; part of the range only
Company details
- Owned by
- Woolworths Group
- Headquarters
- Australia
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Woolworths Seafood ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/woolworths-seafood, last researched 23 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Woolworths Seafood.