October 15, 2023 — The following was released by Lund’s Fisheries:
Lund’s Fisheries takes allegations of this type seriously, which is why we engaged in numerous productive discussions with Ian Urbina and the staff of the Outlaw Ocean Project beginning in January 2023. In good faith, we conscientiously shared documentation, procedures, policies and industry knowledge surrounding domestic and international fishing, foreign processing and imports. We will continue to address Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing, and forced labor allegations with industry members, NGOs, and our government to strengthen the seafood supply chain and provide consumers with the utmost confidence.
Upon hearing questions and criticisms raised about Rongcheng Haibo, we initiated an internal investigation, and resolved not to renew existing contracts with Rongcheng Haibo until that work was complete. Although our investigation did not find any evidence of illegal activity or forced labor in the operations of Roncheng Haibo Seafood, we are maintaining our cessation of new business pending further investigation.
Lund’s Fisheries requires a Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA) from all of our foreign suppliers. SMETA is the world’s most widely used audit in assessing standards of labor, health and safety, environmental performance, and ethics. The SMETA audit is designed to help protect workers from unsafe conditions, overwork, discrimination, low pay, and forced labor. The SMETA process is what companies use to evaluate their suppliers, specifically when referring to forced labor risks. In addition, we also engage with each supplier, requiring that they sign a supplier declaration agreement, wherein they must agree to not employ forced labor. We analyze and evaluate all the documentation they provide to us, including their SMETA audit reports, annually, to verify the results.
As a proud member of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership’s Global Squid Supply Chain Roundtable, Lund’s Fisheries is committed to working towards sustainable fisheries and combatting IUU fishing and human rights violations globally.
Lund’s Fisheries is a family owned and operated, vertically integrated seafood harvester and processor which operates 19 fishing vessels on the East and West Coast of the United States and 5 seafood processing facilities in New Jersey, Massachusetts, and California. Our US plants produce a variety of Marine Stewardship Council-certified whole and cleaned calamari products, sea scallops, and multiple species of finfish.
Lund’s Fisheries will celebrate our 70th anniversary next year. Our relationships with our customers, employees, consumers and partners are our first priority, and we take great pride in maintaining the integrity of what we do each day.