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Slavery, child labour and people traff icking under the microscope [Grimsby Telegraph (UK)](Grimsby Telegraph (UK) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Humber Seafood Summit lands in town this week, with a host of national speakers and an international audience descending on Grimsby. Here Business Telegraph gets a taste of some of the key issues at the forefront of industry minds. SLAVERY, people trafficking and child labour are some of the abhorrent procedures in developing nations being tackled by a new working group championed in Grimsby. Representatives from across the seafood industry have come together in support of a new all-stakeholder task force, set up in response to growing concerns regarding unethical practices within the global market. Hosted by town-based Seafish, the group includes Grimsby giant Young's, together with major supermarket chains, smaller retailers, producers, suppliers, non-Government organisations, development bodies and charities, and is setting out to establish a common understanding of the issues, communicate the work currently going on to address them, and agree a clear agenda for action. Commenting on the Ethics Working Group's inaugural meeting, Seafish, chief executive Dr Paul Williams said: "Seafish is delighted to facilitate this important work and grateful for the support of our industry. The different sectors of the seafood industry often have very different agendas and priorities but the issue of ethics, and in particular the treatment of the people employed in the supply of seafood, is one that unites us all. "That we have come together in support of such a bold agenda is a testament to the genuine concern we all share for our fellow humans and our collective will to do the right thing." The Ethics Working Group is currently agreeing a collective work programme and, in due course, will be issuing a joint report on current issues and initiatives and a statement of intent. Mike Mitchell, technical and corporate social responsibility director at Young's Seafood, where 30 species are sourced from five continents, for more than 3,000 employees to prepare more than 300- million seafood dishes for UK consumers every year. Mr Mitchell, a previous speaker at Humber Seafood Summit and regular attendee, said: "At Young's Seafood we are committed to using responsiblysourced seafood in our products and have been a part of various initiatives to promote ethical practices in the At Young's Seafood we are committed to using responsibly sourced seafood in our products and have been a part of various initiatives to promote ethical practices in the seafood industry. Mike Mitchell seafood industry. We're really pleased to be part of this Ethics Working Group working together with other stakeholders to ensure we do all we can to prevent unethical practices." It follows an initiative nearly a decade ago that saw two major Grimsby processors play a prominent role in the thwarting of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing by powerful trade group, the Food And Drink Federation. They helped save a vital cod fishing zone in the Baltic Sea, earning acknowledgement from Greenpeace. The FDF is again involved, so too the British Retail Consortium and Aquaculture Stewardship Council. The FDF Seafood Group, which boasts membership totalling Pounds 2 billion of buying power, said: "As responsible businesses, members recognise the need to share areas of common understanding on ethical issues impacting on the seafood supply chain, to communicate our current work and agree areas of continuous improvement where necessary in the future. "We therefore welcome the formation of the Seafish Ethics Working Group and look forward to working with it as a part of our continuing responsible supply chain management." Political and humanitarian input will come from the UK-based Environmental Justice Foundation. It works to protect the marine environment, its biodiversity and the livelihoods dependent on it. Steve Trent, executive director, said: "We are committed to promoting fair, equitable and responsible practices in seafood supply chains. "Tackling the human and environmental challenges presented to the global seafood industry requires a commitment by all stakeholders to responsible sourcing underpinned by a clear and well-defined set of ethics. "EJF welcomes the formation of Seafish's Ethics Working Group to bring together multiple stakeholders to build consensus on this vitally important issue. "It is now the responsibility of all group members to harness the collective will for improvement and turn that into meaningful and lasting improvement for those people employed in the supply of seafood." (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |