(Information Source: Undercurrent News, on Wed Mar. 20, 2019 17:03 BST)

FishWise, a non-profit sustainable seafood consultancy, today released a "roadmap" for improving seafood ethics (known as RISE) developed in partnership with the seafood industry and conservation and human rights experts.

The RISE website (riseseafood.org) offers streamlined guidance and actionable steps companies can take to understand the labor conditions throughout their supply chains and make improvements to protect workers and mitigate their own regulatory and reputational risks, the project said.

“Seafood companies understand that their success depends on the wellbeing of the people who catch, raise, process, and transport the fish they sell, and they want to do the right thing,” said Aurora Alifano, director of the social responsibility division at FishWise. “RISE offers the help many need to turn concern into action on labor rights.”

Through dialogue with industry leaders, FishWise learned that labor rights and other social issues are a high priority for many companies, but capacity constraints and an abundance of information served as obstacles to getting started, it said. RISE is the product of a multi-year collaboration that brought industry, human rights, labor, and human trafficking experts together to address those constraints.

It aims to offer businesses streamlined guidance and actionable steps to evaluate their supply chain risks; understand and improve labor practices; engage workers and make improvements that matter; and communicate about their policies, expectations, and progress.

“Worker protections have been a Tri Marine priority for some time and we know that taking action is challenging and important,” said Matt Owens, director of environmental policy and social responsibility at Tri Marine International. “RISE offers companies an opportunity to do the right thing and address potential problems that could put their businesses at risk.”

In addition to an accessible step-by-step approach, RISE consolidates supportive resources and guidance developed by the world’s leading human rights and labor advocates. The free online platform is designed for companies to use independently.

"As the project progresses, there is the opportunity to bring together multiple companies to accelerate learning. RISE also offers a referral hub providing connections to experts who can provide individualized guidance and support," it added.

RISE was developed with grant funding support from Walmart Foundation, which aims to decrease the risk of forced or underage labor, human trafficking and other issues affecting workers in supply chains, making investments that focus on data to disrupt these issues and technology that advances transparency.