Arlington, USA.- As the United Nations Oceans Conference convenes in New York, a new paper calls on marine scientists to focus on social issues such as human rights violations in the seafood industry. Authored by Conservation International and a team of researchers at leading organizations, the paper is the first integrated approach to meeting this global challenge and will be presented as part of the UN Oceans Conference and the Seafood Summit, which both take place June 5-9 in New York and Seattle, respectively.
The article, published today in the journal Science, is in direct response to investigative reports by the Associated Press, The Guardian, The New York Times and other media outlets that uncovered glaring human rights violations on fishing vessels. The investigations tracked the widespread use of slave labor in Southeast Asia and its role in bringing seafood to American restaurants and supermarkets, chronicling the plight of fishermen tricked and trapped into working 22-hour days, often without pay and while enduring abuse. Subsequent investigations have documented the global extent of these abuses in a wide array of countries.
“The scientific community has not kept pace with concerns for social issues in the seafood sector,” said Jack Kittinger, CI’s Senior Director, Global Fisheries and Aquaculture. “The purpose of this initiative is to ensure that governments, businesses, and nonprofits are working together to improve human rights, equality and food and livelihood security. This is a holistic and comprehensive approach that establishes a global standard to address these social challenges.”
As part of the initiative, Conservation International has organized a volunteer commitment, calling on governments, NGOs, businesses and other organizations to improve social responsibility in the seafood sector. For a list of organizations that have already committed to this call to action, visit: https://oceanconference.un.org/commitments.
The paper identifies three key principles that together establish a global standard for social responsibility in the seafood sector: protecting human rights, dignity and respecting access to resources; ensuring equality and equitable opportunities to benefit; and improving food and livelihood security.
Seafood is the world’s most internationally traded food commodity. By 2030, the oceans will need to supply more than 150 million metric tons of seafood to meet the demands of a growing population. The paper calls on governments, businesses and the scientific community to take measurable steps to ensure seafood is sourced without harm to the environment and people that work in the seafood industry.
CI’s Human Nature blog provides a first-hand account of enslaved Thai fishermen and the people working at the forefront of this issue.
About Conservation International
Conservation International (CI) uses science, policy and partnerships to protect the nature people rely on for food, fresh water and livelihoods. Founded in 1987, CI works in more than 30 countries on six continents to ensure a healthy, prosperous planet that supports us all. Learn more about CI and its groundbreaking “Nature Is Speaking” campaign, and follow CI’s work on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Reference (open):
John N. Kittinger, Lydia C. L. Teh, Edward H. Allison, Nathan J. Bennett, Larry B. Crowder, Elena M. Finkbeiner, Christina Hicks, Cheryl G. Scarton, Katrina Nakamura, Yoshitaka Ota, Jhana Young, Aurora Alifano, Ashley Apel, Allison Arbib, Lori Bishop, Mariah Boyle, Andrés M. Cisneros-Montemayor, Philip Hunter, Elodie Le Cornu, Max Levine, Richard S. Jones, J. Zachary Koehn, Melissa Marschke, Julia G. Mason, Fiorenza Micheli, Loren McClenachan, Charlotte Opal, Jonathan Peacey, S. Hoyt Peckham, Eva Schemmel, Vivienne Solis-Rivera, Wilf Swartz, T. ‘Aulani Wilhelm. Committing to socially responsible seafood. Science 02 Jun 2017. Vol. 356, Issue 6341, pp. 912-913. DOI: 10.1126/science.aam9969
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/356/6341/912.full
