Saving Seafood

NGOs, businesses urge US Labor Department include distant-water fishing in forced labor list

December 17, 2019 — Greenpeace USA, AFL-CIO, Human Rights Watch, Environmental Justice Foundation, Whole Foods Market, and 19 other groups have sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Labor requesting the organization end its practice of only considering a country’s territorial waters when creating its List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor.

The letter, sent to Marcia Eugenio – the director of the Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking for the Bureau of International Affairs with the Department of Labor – comes in the wake of a damning report by Greenpeace identifying forced labor issues in Southeast Asia. The new report includes accusations of forced labor against 13 distant-water fishing vessels registered in China, Taiwan, Vanuatu, and Fiji.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MSC establishes new requirements to combat forced and child labor

March 28, 2019 — The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has announced new requirements designed to address concerns over the use of forced and child labor in the seafood industry.

Introduced as part of an update made to the MSC’s Chain of Custody Standard, the new rules require all MSC certificate-holders to undergo an audit of their labor practices and policies, with the exception of companies that show they are at lower risk of employing child or forced labor.

“Forced and child labor is an industry-wide issue with no quick or easy solution. The new measures are part of a series of updates to both the MSC Chain of Custody Standard and MSC Fisheries Standard to address forced labor in the seafood industry,” MSC said in a press release. “The new labor requirements are part of the wider changes to the MSC Chain of Custody Standard to improve clarity, accessibility, and integrity where necessary.”

The audit requirement will come into effect on 28 September, 2019, with companies given a 12-month grace period to implement a labor audit, according to MSC. The on-site audits now required by MSC must be carried out an independent third-party social auditor using of three labor audit programs recognized by the MSC: the Amfori Business Social Compliance Initiative audit; the Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA), or the SA8000 Certification from Social Accountability International. The MSC also said it planned to recognize other labor programs that gain acceptance from the Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative (SSCI).

Read the full story at Seafood Source