21-23 April 2026 | Barcelona, Spain

Worker Engagement in Seafood: Identification, Assessment and Recommendations for Improvements to Worker Engagement Mechanisms

Apr 21 2026

15:00 - 15:45

CC 5.1

There’s broad agreement that effective mechanisms for meaningful, ongoing worker engagement and remediation are essential for human rights due diligence, but such mechanisms do not yet exist in many parts of the world. The Certification and Ratings Collaboration (Aquaculture Stewardship Council, Fair Trade USA, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Marine Stewardship Council, and Sustainable Fisheries Partnership) has partnered with Issara Institute, a human and labor rights organization, to understand the realities of current and potential worker engagement mechanisms and worker access to them in five key seafood-producing countries in Asia. During this session, participants will hear about Issara Institute’s findings on the state of worker awareness of rights in the seafood sector, the effectiveness of existing mechanisms, barriers to effective grievance mechanisms, and recommendations for system strengthening that benefits both workers and responsible businesses. Participants will also learn about the collaboration’s guidance developed for the seafood industry (and other key stakeholders) in order to improve support for workers.

Speakers

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership

- Global Supply Chains Director

Aquaculture Stewardship Council

- Human Rights Team Lead

Issara Institute

- Founder & Executive Director