U.K. seafood industry body Seafish has commissioned a project to assess the ethical issues that impact the UK seafood supply chain now and in the future.
Seafish is reviewing both domestic fisheries and imports of wild and farmed species, the different sectors of the supply chain, and all aspects of unethical practices.
“Human ethics is a complex global issue affecting many countries and a wide range of products,” said Michaela Archer, head of information. “For the purposes of this project we use the term ethics for issues relating to labour and human rights. This includes slavery, bonded and forced labor, child labor and health and safety across the whole supply chain, be that on land or at sea.”
Recent instances of unethical practices, highlighted in media reports, show that the impact is wide-reaching, added Archer.
“The UK seafood industry is already working on this issue on a number of levels and is keen to move forward towards eliminating unethical practices from UK supply chains. As a starting point we require in-depth insight into the issues across the whole supply chain.”
The final report will be presented to the Seafood Ethics Common Language Group. This group was formed by Seafish in July 2014 to facilitate information and knowledge exchange across a whole range of stakeholders, establish a common understanding of the issues, communicate the work currently going on to address them and agree a clear agenda for future action.
Seafish is looking for applicants to undertake this project, ideally with expertise in work of this nature and a track record in delivering projects to a high standard. The deadline for submitting tenders is 23 January 2015.
Libby Woodhatch, head of advocacy for Seafish, recently participated in a SeafoodSource webinar about human-rights abuses in the seafood supply chain along with FishWise and Fair Trade USA.
