The Seafood Ethics Common Language Group
The Seafood Ethics Common Language Group (SECLG) provides a safe meeting space to discuss the key ethical issues faced by the international seafood industry. The group looks at social welfare issues that affect the UK seafood supply chain, whether in the UK or seafood imported into the UK. This covers human trafficking, labour abuses, child labour, debt bondage, forced labour, migrant workers, and modern slavery. It is an opportunity to share new ideas or best practice case studies from around the world.
The group is led by our industry and we take responsibility for running the SECLG. The Group has met twice a year since 2014. The SECLG brings together seafood industry representatives from major supermarket chains, smaller retailers, processors, foodservice and the catching sector. Other people who attend are not-for-profit voluntary groups, welfare charities, consumer groups, government and social research scientists.
There are generally two meetings a year. The presentations and minutes from the most recent meetings are below. Presentations and minutes from previous meetings are available upon request by emailing issuesgroups@seafish.co.uk.
We are running a mix of in person meetings and shorter online bite-size SECLG sessions at the moment.
Next meeting
The next SECLG meeting will be in autumn 2024. For further information, please contact: issuesgroups@seafish.co.uk.
Previous two meetings
SECLG in person meeting. Social indicators - SECLG ten years on (10 July 2024). SECLG first met in July 2014, and since then has provided a forum to bring together seafood stakeholders to look at human rights issues in seafood supply chains, explore shared collective solutions and collaborate. This meeting looked at what has happened in the last ten years, and looked ahead at the new Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D) and what this will mean going forward. Please contact issuesgroups@seafish.co.uk for access to the presentations from this meeting.
How the seafood supply chain is addressing emerging issues and challenges (5 March 2024). There are complex issues and concerns about labour and human rights issues, across many countries and a wide range of products. This challenges the reputation of the seafood sector and is too big and too complex an issue for any individual company or organisation to tackle on its own. This meeting will be an opportunity to look at some of the initiatives that have been developed, or are developing now, to address these issues. Please look at the presentations:
- Worker Voice and Partnership: A model for worker-centred due diligence and remediation of labour Issues in the Thai seafood industry. Mia Tucker, Issara Institute
- Addressing issues in the UK catching sector - Europe’s first Worker-Driven Social Responsibility initiative launches pilot to fight the exploitation of workers at sea. Lucila Granada, FLEX and Mike Park, SWFPA.
- Collaborating to understand and address emerging issues in the supply chain. Georgia Worrall, Seafood Ethics Action Alliance.
SECLG meeting notes
Notes and minutes from recent SECLG bite-size and in person meetings can be viewed by following the links below:
- Social indicators - SECLG ten years on (in person). 10 July 2024
- How the seafood supply chain is addressing emerging issues and challenges. 5 March 2024
- The role of social audits. 12 October 2023
- Driving improvements in human rights and labour standards (in person). 5 July 2023
- Aquaculture and human rights. 1 February 2023
- Driving improvement through effective implementation of ILO 188. (In person) 5 July 2022
SECLG monthly newsletters
We send monthly emails with a round up of stories, research and projects in the seafood industry. Subscribe to receive our monthly update and meeting details.
Terms of Reference and archive
- We have archived presentations from previous SECLG meetings. These are available upon request by emailing issuesgroups@seafish.co.uk.
- Read the Seafood Ethics Common Language Group Terms of Reference (March 2019)
Our social responsibility work
- Social responsibility is a key work area for us. As well as running the SECLG we also support the seafood industry in a number of key areas to help eliminate unethical practices from UK seafood supply chains. To find out more access our Social Responsibility in Seafood briefing note
- For more information and to download Seafish briefing papers, visit our Social Responsibility in Seafood webpage
Contacts
For further information, please contact: issuesgroups@seafish.co.uk.