Social auditing and social compliance frameworks have been created out of a want by manufacturers to grasp the present state of labor dangers, talk expectations by way of their provide chains, and guarantee steady enchancment and monitoring to mitigate related model dangers. In seafood, using these instruments was a pure evolution out of the already established use of eco-certifications as assurance fashions for end-buyers and types. When early investigations into labor abuses in 2015 unearthed important points in seafood, corporations turned to audits and certifications to strive to sort things, as many different sectors had carried out. On the time, the logic appeared sound: elevated monitoring would result in enhancements.

As audits and certifications turned extra widespread, their limitations turned obvious. Firms created barely completely different, however duplicative necessities, resulting in inefficiencies and a excessive value and burden of course of, which weighed largely on upstream provide chain actors. Many suppliers and producers started doing the minimal to conform with a view to preserve or acquire entry into the market, creating much less impactful efforts. All of this has resulted in fairwashing and mistrust of the strategy.

Human rights abuses and labor exploitation proceed to be properly documented in seafood provide chains throughout the globe regardless of present efforts, and regulatory strain is beginning to mandate firm motion. In response, Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) is gaining traction. HRDD is a extra complete, cyclical strategy, designed to deal with the ever-changing and sophisticated nature of seafood. HRDD not solely meets rising regulatory necessities, it additionally has the potential to construct accountable and resilient pathways to sourcing by way of engagement throughout provide chains. 

But, for a lot of corporations, the problem lies within the how. At a theoretical stage, companies know what they need to be doing; however it may be difficult to place it into motion. One side of this confusion facilities across the position that social certifications and audits ought to play in HRDD. Some teams advocate abandoning these instruments solely, whereas others promote them as a ‘silver bullet’ resolution. Unsurprisingly, the strategy most organizations are actually aligning on falls someplace within the center. FishWise believes that certifications and social audits can play a job, however solely as a part of a much wider and extra complete human rights due diligence program. Firms ought to concentrate on the monetary funding concerned and make a acutely aware willpower as as to whether that is the most effective use of their restricted assets for social duty applications.