The U.S. Department of State is seeking an NGO partner that can identify evidence of forced labor and illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the seafood supply chain.
“By increasing transparency and accountability in global seafood supply chains, the program will help combat unfair competition, support responsible business practices, protect marine resources, and reinforce a level playing field for the U.S. seafood sector,” the State Department said in its announcement.
The chosen NGO will be charged with using emerging technologies such as satellite monitoring, public vessel tracking systems, artificial intelligence, web scraping, and more to identify and verify instances of forced labor and IUU fishing. The organization will then disseminate its findings publicly, increasing transparency about where forced labor and illegal fishing is happening within global supply chains. The NGO will also be tasked with supporting other organizations that tackle these issues and foster collaboration between labor rights organizations, environmental organizations, investigative journalists, and other stakeholders.
The program will focus on countries that have signed agreements on reciprocal trade (ART) with the U.S. in East Asia and the Pacific, excluding Indonesia and the Philippines, and the Western Hemisphere.
“In these regions, weak enforcement, opaque supply chains, limited transparency, and insufficient accountability mechanisms allow illicit actors to profit from exploitative labor practices and IUU fishing activities while evading detection and remediation,” the State Department said. “These practices harm vulnerable workers, contribute to resource depletion, and undermine responsible economic development and legitimate trade. Both IUU fishing and forced labor enable illicit actors to artificially lower production costs, distort global seafood markets, and disadvantage law-abiding producers and businesses, including those operating within the United States.”
The State Department will provide USD 1,973,359 (EUR 1,711,434) in financial support for the mission, which is expected to last two years. The government is accepting applications through 3 September. Only one award is expected to be issued.
