RELIANCE ON MSC CERTIFICATION ENABLES FORCED-LABOUR SEAFOOD

Reliance on MSC Certification enables forced-labour seafood. The Seafood Working Group (SWG), a coalition of labour, human rights, and environmental organisations, has issued an open letter to seafood companies and retailers warning that overreliance on Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification in sourcing decisions creates a backdoor for seafood produced under forced labour conditions to enter their supply chains.

Citing the recent Financial Times investigation, “The dark truth behind supermarket tuna,” which revealed that several major retailers in the United Kingdom were sourcing tuna from MSC-certified distant-water fisheries where fishers experience forced labour conditions, the SWG has asserted that “companies must end the practice of using MSC certification as the principal justification for sourcing decisions and ensure that meaningful labour and human rights criteria also drive sourcing choices.”

This action follows prior public calls by the SWG coalition for MSC “to take responsibility for the role of its social policies and processes in enabling the abuse of workers in certified fisheries, and its attendant role in instances of certifying fish produced under conditions of labour exploitation.”

The high-risk distant-water fisheries featured in the Financial Times report met company sourcing requirements because they were MSC-certified, despite the fact that fishers experienced forced labour conditions. MSC’s attempts to assess and address forced labour risks through its social policies have failed to meaningfully address these risks, and MSC has continued to certify fisheries despite credible reports of labour exploitation. As a result, MSC certification that companies have historically treated as evidence of responsible sourcing is instead increasingly becoming a liability — exposing retailers to public scrutiny whenever labour abuses are uncovered in MSC-certified fisheries.

“The fact that supermarkets follow policies proven to lead them to buy MSC-certified tuna produced under forced labour represents a betrayal of consumer expectations. When consumers buy seafood with a label claiming it is ‘sustainable,’ they do not expect that same product to be produced under forced labour conditions. Any claims that consumers’ preferences for environmental sustainability can be treated separately from their expectations that basic labour rights are in place for workers are misleading and fundamentally at odds with what consumers reasonably expect from retailers.”  Zacari Edwards, Senior Seafood Campaign Coordinator at Global Labour Justice

Read the full letter here

In their letter to seafood companies, the SWG coalition has reiterated its previous calls that MSC should cease to position its certification programme as a mechanism that can help companies assess forced labour risks, including through recently announced initiatives related to advising companies on human rights due diligence. While MSC has repeatedly made reference to its social policies in response to public criticism, the organisation remains an environmental certification body and does not have the mandate or capacity to assess labour and human rights conditions across global fishing supply chains.

The SWG’s letter also calls on companies to move beyond voluntary certification schemes by supporting legally binding mechanisms with independent democratic trade unions, including Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) and Enforceable Brand Agreements (EBAs), which provide the most effective means of preventing forced labor and protecting fishers’ rights

This important conversation for the sector will continue at the Seafood Expo North America in Boston next week. On March 15, Global Labour Justice (GLJ) will host a panel titled “Certified Risk: Why Companies Must Move Beyond Certifications to Ensure Supply Chain Compliance”. where the risks to companies of relying on certification schemes as a compliance strategy will be examined. The session will also explore why companies must move beyond voluntary certification schemes toward enforceable agreements, direct worker engagement, and supply chain systems that provide real protections for workers.

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