Is tuna ecolabeling causing fishers more harm than good?

Abstract Nearly 70,000 fishing crew are currently at sea catching the ecolabeled tuna in your sandwich or sushi. Tuna fishing on the High Seas is remote, making it difficult to detect forced labour and important to look into the welfare of fishers on vessels fishing for ecolabeled tuna. The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) ecolabel says it is keeping forced labour out of the certified supply chain and that buyers choosing certified tuna significantly reduce their exposure. To determine how this is achieved, an analysis was performed of the primary data published by the MSC at https://fisheries.msc.org for the 3327 tuna vessels listed in its program. The data show that a majority of tuna vessel owners (1970 fishing employers) are participating anonymously. Their involvement in forced labour is unknown, and vessel conditions are untraceable for 74% of the tuna catches reported by certifiers. A majority of MSC’s tuna clients (about 4% fishing entities) refuted forced labour on behalf of 53% of tuna fishers in a template that MSC provides and protects with a disclaimer. Yet, on some of the vessels, tuna fishers have recently reported forced labour. Content analysis showed the information provided by MSC’s tuna clients overall deflects (rather than accepts) accountability for human rights and adverse effects, such as debt bondage. These findings matter to fishers’ welfare because the MSC has reported that its program encompasses 59% of the world’s tuna, making its assurances about lower risks in certified tuna influential in the sector, with potential to undermine criminal and civil enforcement.