Portsmouth, New Hampshire, U.S.A.-based The Center for Responsible Seafood (TCRS), formerly known as the Responsible Aquaculture Foundation, will focus its June 2025 Shrimp Summit, held this year in Bali, Indonesia, on the issues sector stakeholders voiced at the 2025 Seafood Expo North America (SENA).
In a release about the organization’s experience at this year's SENA, held in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., from 16 to 18 March, TCRS said that “despite concerns about shifting international tariffs roiling the market, the mood at SENA ... was generally upbeat.”
The TCRS release acknowledged that “last year at this time, the Indian shrimp processing sector was in the spotlight” for accusations of forced and child labor.
“Thankfully, [SENA 2025] did not serve as the stage for the release of any damaging revelations, particularly regarding social issues,” the TCRS said.
The organization credited the revelations made public at last year’s SENA with helping the sector identify areas for improvement, however, saying that the discussions led to “the clear understanding that pre-processing facilities must be declared in certification audits.”
Similarly to its goals for this year's annual shrimp summit, the TCRS credited its 2024 Shrimp Summit in Chennai, India, with providing a space where sector stakeholders could discuss labor issues in the supply chain.
This year, the TCRS aims to focus on the power of technology to improve traceability and transparency.
“We are particularly excited about the huge strides in digital technology that promise to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, enable full digital traceability, and usher in a new era of transparency that has implications for the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST), the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI), and certification standards,” the TCRS said.
