SEA Alliance, with a group of 39 leading retailers and seafood businesses and a consortium of seafood groups* commissioned a study delivered by Impactt into the implementation of responsible recruitment practices and the Employer Pays Principle in the global tuna processing sector. The study focused at five tuna processing locations: Maldives, Mauritius, Philippines, Seychelles and Thailand. The study aimed to identify ways to encourage responsible recruitment practices in the tuna shore-based processing sector, as a mechanism to improve labour standards for migrant workers.
*As well as SEA Alliance, the consortium of seafood groups included British Retail Consortium, Food Network for Ethical Trade, Global Tuna Alliance and the Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship.
In the study, Impactt outline how the findings highlight both the challenges of establishing enforceable labour standards for migrant workers in the tuna processing industry around the world and explore how the seafood industry is working to improve labour conditions and tackle human rights violations. Impactt review the regulatory frameworks and conduct interviews and surveys in the focus countries. There is also input from external stakeholders and industry members, and offers tailored recommendations to all levels of the supply chain, to support the adoption of responsible recruitment practices.
This study started in July 2023 and was co-launched at a SEA Alliance hosted event at the Barcelona Global Seafood Expo on 6th May 2025.
The full report, summary, media statement and our response to the report can be accessed below.
Key findings from the study include:
- Lack of sufficient commercial or regulatory pressure or incentives for actors to commit suitable resources for full implementation
- Challenges for industry associations to establish enforceable standards or commitments around responsible recruitment
- Complexities in seafood supply chains increase the risks, as well as hindering buyers from achieving sufficient oversight and leverage to encourage suppliers to adopt responsible recruitment practices.
- Challenges in understanding the “true” cost of recruitment, which is critical to ensuring that responsible recruitment is embedded as a cost of doing business.
- Opportunities for:
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- industry associations to act as convenors to facilitate dialogue, foster collaboration, and collective engagement to address responsible recruitment
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- buyers to provide incentives for suppliers to implement employer pays principles, support capacity building and embed responsible recruitment principles into their procurement practices
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- suppliers to collaborate with buyers to estimate fair recruitment costs, streamline supply chains, partner with zero-fee recruitment agencies, enforce contractual safeguards, and actively monitor recruitment practices
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- all groups to increase information sharing to increase transparency into supplier recruitment practices.
Access all documents here: