A Review of Fair Labor Best Practices in the Wild-Caught Commercial Fishing Sector in Southeast Asia

This report underscores the need for a transformative shift in the approach to fair labor practices in Southeast Asia’s wild-caught commercial fishing sector from one that views the fishers as stakeholders, to an approach that recognizes fishers as rights-holders. Key findings highlight the absence of current fair labor best practices in the wild-caught fisheries sector in Southeast Asia, with existing labor tools primarily focused on risk prevention for corporations rather than crew welfare. The overabundance of similar labor tools that claim to ensure fair labor further are found to be confusing by the private sector and further complicates the sector’s progress in addressing labor concerns adequately. Additionally, Western market demands impose financial burdens on Southeast Asian seafood companies, potentially diverting resources from fisher well-being.