Fish & seafood
Fishing crews can spend months at sea without coming ashore, out of reach of labour inspectors and of the audits that check the plants where seafood is packed.
128,000
fishers were in forced labour in 2021 by the ILO's count, which it says is probably too low
SourceInternational Labour Organization (2024): Forced labour in commercial fishing (opens in a new tab)
61.8 million
people work in fishing and fish farming
62%
of the people who process fish and seafood are women
How the 127 brands we've graded split
The industry at a glance
The world produced a record 223 million tonnes of fish, seafood and algae in 2022, and for the first time fish farms produced more fish and seafood than wild fishing. (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2024: FAO report: global fisheries and aquaculture production reaches a new record high (opens in a new tab))
Farmed prawns and fish are fed fishmeal made from wild-caught fish, so forced labour at sea can end up in farmed seafood too. A 2014 investigation traced prawn feed to boats crewed by slaves. (FoodNavigator, 2014: Seafood slavery: Asian slave labour producing prawns for European and US retailers (opens in a new tab))
Labour Lens records seafood where it's processed and packed. To be Good, a company has to trace its catch to the boat or farm and have the conditions of crews or farm workers checked independently. A company that takes no steps on its catch is Lacks transparency.
On the record
- Ten countries produce 89.8% of the world's farmed fish and seafood: China, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Bangladesh, the Philippines, South Korea, Norway, Egypt and Chile. (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2024: FAO report: global fisheries and aquaculture production reaches a new record high (opens in a new tab))
- A six-month Guardian investigation in 2014 found that CP Foods bought fishmeal for its prawn feed from suppliers linked to boats crewed by slaves. Its prawns were sold by Walmart, Carrefour, Tesco and Costco. (FoodNavigator, 2014: Seafood slavery: Asian slave labour producing prawns for European and US retailers (opens in a new tab))
- Thailand was the first country in Asia to ratify the ILO's Work in Fishing Convention, in force there from January 2020. It requires written work agreements, rest periods, and medical care at sea and ashore. (International Labour Organization, 2019: Thailand ratifies Work in Fishing Convention (opens in a new tab))
- The Outlaw Ocean Project found Uyghur workers at Shandong seafood plants of the Chishan Group, which supplied up to 17% of the processed squid the United States imported from China. High Liner Foods stopped buying from the suppliers named. (SeafoodSource, 2023: Outlaw Ocean Project reveals additional information on Uyghur labor as some implicated companies remain silent (opens in a new tab))
- The US Department of Labor lists 9 resources in this industry from 20 countries as made with child or forced labour. See the list
Along the supply chain
Industrial fleets and small boats, some at sea for months
What happens here
Crews, often migrant workers recruited into debt, have been held on boats for months or years, beaten and denied pay, out of reach of inspectors.
What we check
Whether the company traces its catch to the boat and has crews' conditions checked independently.
Ships that collect catch at sea, and fishing ports
What happens here
Passing catch to carrier ships at sea lets fishing boats stay out longer and makes the catch harder to trace.
What we check
Whether its tracing reaches the fishing boat, not only the port or the carrier.
Farms in China, Indonesia, India, Vietnam and elsewhere
What happens here
Farmed fish and prawns are fed fishmeal made from wild fish, which can come from boats using forced labour.
What we check
Whether it names its farms and has farm workers checked. ASC and BAP have some worker rules but don't cover the boats that catch the feed.
Peeling sheds, canneries and processing plants in Thailand, China, Vietnam and elsewhere
What happens here
Most processing workers are women. Investigators have found forced labour in plants, including transferred Uyghur workers in Chinese seafood factories.
What we check
Whether it publishes its processors, has them independently audited and shows a living wage.
Seafood brands, importers and supermarkets
What happens here
The brand chooses its suppliers and decides how far back it traces its catch.
What we check
MSC and ASC are environmental labels with light labour rules, so they count as working towards the catch check, not passing it. Fair Trade USA seafood checks crews' conditions.
The extra check for Good
Traces its catch to the boat or farm and has crews' or farm workers' conditions checked independently.
Missing it holds a brand at On Track at best, and taking no steps at all means Lacks transparency.
Resources on the US Department of Labor's list
The list names resources and the countries where the Department found child labour or forced labour in producing them. It covers whole countries, not companies.
9 resources shown
| Resource | Child labour | Forced labour |
|---|---|---|
| Fish | Brazil, Cambodia, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Uganda, Vietnam, Yemen | China, Ghana, Indonesia, Myanmar, Taiwan, Thailand |
| Shrimp | Bangladesh, Cambodia | India, Myanmar, Thailand |
| Dried Fish | Bangladesh | Bangladesh |
| Shellfish | El Salvador, Nicaragua | Not listed |
| Tilapia (fish) | Ghana | Ghana |
| Fish Oil | Not listed | Thailand* (made with listed inputs) |
| Fishmeal | Not listed | Thailand* (made with listed inputs) |
| Nile Perch (fish) | Tanzania | Not listed |
| Squid | Not listed | China |
* Made with inputs listed for child or forced labour, such as cocoa or cotton grown elsewhere.
What earns each grade
Good
0 of 127 brands
- Traces its catch to the boat or farm and has crews' or farm workers' conditions checked independently, or is Fair Trade USA certified
- Shows its processing workers earn a living wage, or processes in countries such as Australia where legal wages are about a living wage
- Shows where its fish are caught or farmed, not only where they're packed (tracing the catch shows this)
On Track
2 of 127 brands
- Traces its catch to the boat or farm, but has no independent checks on crews or farm workers
- MSC or ASC certified, with processing in Australia or audited plants and a living wage plan
For example New Zealand King Salmon, Petuna
- Takes no steps to trace its catch to the boat or farm or check the people who catch or farm it, which alone means Lacks transparency
- MSC or ASC labels only, with processing in Thailand or China and no evidence on wages
For example Appel Feinkost, Hawesta, Huon Aquaculture · See all 113
- Forced labour found on boats or in plants supplying it, in the last five years, that it hasn't put right
For example Tassal, Lerøy Seafood, AquaChile · See all 12
Signs of a fair supply chain
- Fish traced to a named boat or farm
- Fair Trade USA certified seafood
- Independent crew interviews or a vessel standard such as RFVS
Warning signs
- MSC or ASC labels presented as proof of fair work
- "Product of Thailand" with no catch area, boat or farm named
- Prawns from farms the brand doesn't name
Try the rules
Pick an example or tick what a company can show, and see the grade the rules would give it.
The grade it would get
Grade: Lacks transparency
This company makes its products in Thailand, where unions are heavily restricted. There's no proof it pays more than the legal minimum, which in Thailand is below a living wage, and it has no full independent audit.
Good requirements 1 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certification
- Not met: Respects worker rights
- 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 farm
- Red flag: Fails its category's check on catch traced to the boat or farm, workers checked (means Lacks transparency)
A made-up company, graded by the same rules as every brand on Labour Lens. What Lacks transparency means
The full rules are on the Grading page, with the finer points on Resources.
The brands we've graded
Where they make things
124 of the 127 brands say where they make their products. The countries they name most:
| Country | Brands | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand | 35 | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Vietnam | 21 | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| United States | 19 | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Low |
| China | 16 | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Indonesia | 13 | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Australia | 11 | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| Ecuador | 11 | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Spain | 11 | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
No fish & seafood brand is Good yet
The brands list shows the best available in each type.
Questions and answers
7 questions
Is Australian seafood free of these problems?
Australian processing plants work under Australian awards and the Fair Work Act. Much of the seafood sold here is imported, though, and imported fish is often packed in a country other than the one whose boats caught it.
On Labour Lens, an Australian company still needs to trace its catch to the boat or farm and have crews or farm workers checked to be Good.
Does the MSC blue fish label mean the crew was treated fairly?
Not on its own. MSC is an environmental standard for wild fisheries. Fishing companies convicted of forced labour are excluded and vessels sign a labour declaration, but crews aren't audited.
So MSC counts as working towards the catch check on Labour Lens, not passing it.
What is transhipment, and why does it matter?
It's when a fishing boat passes its catch to a carrier ship at sea instead of landing it in port. Boats can then stay out for months, and crews can't leave or report abuse. It also mixes catch from many boats, which makes it harder to trace.
Is farmed seafood safer than wild-caught?
Not necessarily. Fish and prawn farms are on land or near the shore, so they're easier to inspect than boats at sea. But farmed fish and prawns are fed fishmeal from wild fish, and a 2014 investigation traced prawn feed to boats crewed by slaves. ASC and BAP cover the farms, not the boats that catch the feed.
What changed in Thailand?
After investigations into its fishing fleet, Thailand became the first country in Asia to ratify the ILO's Work in Fishing Convention (opens in a new tab), in force from January 2020. It requires written work agreements, rest periods and medical care for crews.
The US Department of Labor still lists Thai fish and shrimp for forced labour, so a company buying from Thailand needs its own evidence.
What about canned tuna?
Tuna is often caught by large fleets that fish far from home and tranship at sea, and canned in another country. Taiwanese-caught fish is on the US Department of Labor's forced labour list. Look for tuna traced to a named boat, with crews checked independently.
How is seafood graded on Labour Lens?
Seafood is recorded where it's processed and packed, and graded on those plants like any factory. On top of that, the catch has its own check: Good needs it traced to the boat or farm with crews' or farm workers' conditions checked independently, or Fair Trade USA certification.
Tracing alone, or MSC, ASC or BAP, is working towards it, so On Track at best. Taking no steps on the catch means Lacks transparency.
Sources
- FAO report: global fisheries and aquaculture production reaches a new record high (opens in a new tab) Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2024
- Seafood slavery: Asian slave labour producing prawns for European and US retailers (opens in a new tab) FoodNavigator, 2014
- Forced labour in commercial fishing (opens in a new tab) International Labour Organization, 2024
- Thailand ratifies Work in Fishing Convention (opens in a new tab) International Labour Organization, 2019
- Outlaw Ocean Project reveals additional information on Uyghur labor as some implicated companies remain silent (opens in a new tab) SeafoodSource, 2023
- List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (opens in a new tab) US Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), 2024
Figures are as each source published them. The grades and brand counts are Labour Lens's own, from the brands we've researched.
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