Global Seafood Supply Chains: Advocacy for Fishers’ Rights and Fair Competition on the Ocean

Join a discussion of experts on trends in fisher organizing in seafood supply chains and how government policies can help stem unfair competition.

Forced labor and illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing create unfair competition in the seafood industry, making it difficult for countries to uphold international agreements on fishers’ rights and the management of ocean resources. Responsible seafood buyers and retailers have sought to prevent IUU for years and are now seeking more specific approaches to protecting the rights of fishery workers in their supply chains. The rise in fisher organizing and the uptake of the ILO’s Convention 188 on Work in Fishing provide opportunities for dialogue that can strengthen human rights due diligence and other corporate accountability initiatives in the seafood industry.

Panelists will discuss these trends and ARC’s latest research – Upwelling: Fishers Organizing for their Rights and Sustainable Fisheries – a report produced in collaboration with the Fisheries Governance Project.

 

Moderator
Claude Fontheim, Chair of the Global Works Foundation

Speakers
Judy Gearhart, Research Professor at the Accountability Research Center
Presentation of Upwelling, sharing lessons from Ecuador, Ghana, Indonesia, Mexico, Taiwan, and Thailand.

JJ Rosenbaum, Executive Director, Global Labor Justice
Reflections on fisher organizing and fishers’ access to remedy.

Shawn MacDonald, CEO, Verité
Reflections on HRDD processes and why trade union engagement matters.

A fisher from APROISPELA pulls in his net, Ayangue, Santa Elena, Ecuador.
Gustavo Crespo

 

.