Is tuna ecolabeling causing fishers more harm than good?

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Nearly 70,000 fishing crew are currently at sea catching the ecolabeled tuna in your sandwich or sushi. High Seas tuna fishing is remote and dangerous so this research asked how protections against fishing labour violations are represented in tuna ecolabeling data. Half of the world’s tuna supply is represented by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) which says that choosing certified tuna is the best way for tuna buyers to significantly reduce exposure to the risks of forced labour in fishing. Data were collected from https://fisheries.msc.org for 3313 tuna vessels and content analysis showed that 74% of ecolabeled tuna was untraceable to vessel owners (fishing employers). Few of the certificate-holders providing self-declarations about fishing labour were fishing employers (about 4%). Seventeen dismissed even the potential for labour violations for 53% of tuna fishers (37,061) without details of proof or prevention. Overall, the information found on the MSC website did not make vessel employment practices transparent for certified tuna products. MSC clients include a company associated to US tuna ban for forced labour whose self-declaration states “no evidence of forced labour”. Tuna fishers have reported forced labour on several vessels in the program since 2019. Serious omissions in the program’s information system could propagate harmful consequences for fishers. One-Sentence Summary: Data from the Marine Stewardship Council reveal that tuna ecolabeling does not effectively protect fishers from fishing labour violations.

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