Abuse at sea: report exposes labour exploitation in MSC-certified fisheries

A new report from the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has revealed serious abuses of fishers’ labour rights on vessels operating in Marine Stewardship Council-certified fisheries, casting doubt on ‘responsible sourcing’ claims.

Labour abuses suffered by fishers working on vessels in fisheries certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) raise serious concerns about the credibility of the ‘responsible sourcing’ label.

The report, Slipping Through the Net: Labour Abuses in MSC-Certified Fisheries, identifies 80 cases of labour abuse across 72 vessels linked to MSC-certified seafood between 2019 and 2025. These included 10 cases involving forced labour, human trafficking, and forced criminalisation, alongside a wide range of other abuses.

The findings reinforce long-standing concerns that MSC’s labour policies risk “fairwashing” seafood supply chains, creating an illusion of ethical production without the mechanisms needed to identify, prevent or remedy abuses suffered by fishers.

“Our research shows that serious labour abuses are occurring within fisheries that are able to sell their products under the MSC label – and that should concern anyone who believes MSC certification guarantees ‘responsible sourcing’,” said ITF Fisheries Section Coordinator, Chris Williams.

Due a general pattern of under-reporting of abuses on fishing vessels, the significant lack of vessel data available through the MSC and the report’s reliance on ITF data, the findings likely underestimate the scale of harm occurring within MSC supply chains.

The report finds that the MSC’s own requirements were often inconsistently adhered to and that limitations on publicly available data restrict transparency.

MSC states that it does not certify against labour standards, and that its ‘blue tick’ label makes no assurances or social claims – but at the same time, it identifies itself as a “collaborator” and “ally” in eliminating forced and child labour, and it has suggested its certification can reduce exposure to forced labour risks.

The label relies on self-declarations that participating ‘entities’ have not been convicted of forced labour – however, in practice, forced labour convictions are rare in global fisheries due to the high evidentiary threshold, and the time, financial and evidentiary burdens on fishers.

“It’s clear that there are systemic weaknesses in MSC’s data accessibility and transparency, and it must urgently improve this,” said Williams.

“But if companies are serious about ensuring that their products aren’t tainted by labour rights abuses, voluntary ecolabels offer no real guarantees – companies need binding agreements with trade unions.”