LATEST UPDATE: 22 September 2023. Revised publication date early-October 2023 for v2.0. Delay due to scheme owner engagement and additional material submissions.

 

Welcome

Welcome to the landing page for the Human Rights at Sea (HRAS) Seafood Fisheries and Aquaculture certifications, standards and ratings review. It is operated as a live and iterative public-facing page for the ongoing project work. 

Introduction

HRAS issued its first independent catalyst report v1.0 for Fisheries and Aquaculture Certification, Standards and Ratings titled ‘Does it do what it Says on the Tin’ on 8 February 2023. It was framed as an 'Ecosystem 1.0 review' and was updated 6 March 2023 as v1.1. The reports seeks to catalyse the public discussion around whether, or not, the identified entities are best integrating human and labour rights protections within their own seafood certification, standard or rating.

The aim of this page is to provide a free and publicly accessible web platform to track data, review performance and catalyse systemic and institutional change within the global seafood sector by existing certifications, standards and ratings entities.

HRAS Position

HRAS has taken a current position that with the significant number of existing and emerging certifications in the wider seafood sector globally and the reliance that consumers place on them, there is an urgent need to realistically assess them against international legal instruments.

Until a comprehensive independent review and transparent data is publicly and consistently available, there remains a lack of evidence as to certifications validity in supporting worker protections.

Next Steps

Since issuing the report HRAS has been engaged by certification bodies. HRAS will continue outreach to build a more detailed data and policy picture.

Ongoing development of the live data sets continues for a proposed Version 2.0 (estimated publication September 2023). 

A new Questionnaire 1.0 is available and will be sent to all certification bodies further developing the data sets and context of the project work.

If you have any pertinent questions or comments regarding the work, please email: csrreview@humanrightsatsea.org or use the form at the bottom of the page.