Welcome to Module 1: Labor and Human Rights Standards, Issues, and Risks in the Seafood Supply Chain

Workers in the sector are vulnerable to various types of exploitation and abuse, especially in the high seas and in remote farms and seafood processing facilities, where they are isolated and can be subjected to extreme working environments.

Extreme working environments, irregular and informal recruitment and hiring systems, poorly-regulated fishing and production practices, are some of the factors that increase the vulnerability of seafood workers to situations indicative of forced labor.

Debt bondage occurs when a worker incurs or inherits debt, which binds the worker to his or her employer for an unspecified amount of time.

Child labor is defined as work performed by children, which interferes with a child’s right to health, growth, development and access to quality education.

All workers have the right to establish and join organizations, elect their organizational leader, and develop their own rules and guidelines without interference or intimidation from the employer.

Workers have a right to remuneration that will provide them a decent life. The right to compensation is universally acknowledged. Most countries set a floor on how much workers should get paid. Paying at the least the legal minimum wage is a staple provision in many codes of conduct for suppliers. Yet, getting companies to pay their workers the legal minimum wages, let alone the living wages, remains an ongoing struggle across almost all industries.

Reports of long hours and constant work abound in the sector. The lack of defined work hours is common on fishing vessels, where workers are expected to work as long as there is fish to be caught or processed. Despite the sometimes irregular work schedule, a clear and defined understanding of working hours is essential in gaining a better picture of working conditions for workers in the sector.

Workers have been found to experience substandard and sometimes inhumane living accommodations inside fishing vessels, even as the cost of food and lodging is deducted from their wages every month.

Workers have been found to experience substandard and sometimes inhumane living accommodations inside fishing vessels, even as the cost of food and lodging is deducted from their wages every month.

The sector has one of the highest risks for occupational hazards and fishing is considered as one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.

Procedures and controls need to be in place to ensure that workers are safe and that precautions are taken to avoid loss of life or limb. This also includes the assurance that workers are in clean and hygienic spaces to avoid sickness and contamination.

Because of the high-risk nature of work in the seafood sector, appropriate medical care is vital in ensuring worker safety. Operators of high-seas or distant-water fishing vessels should take particular care, given the harsh working conditions and the long periods that the vessel is out at sea.