Hundreds of tuna vessels are set to take part in a new five-year programme designed to improve living and working conditions for fishing crews across global tuna supply chains.
The Seafood Task Force (STF) Risk-based Assurance and Remediation Programme is already operating across 10 international ports spanning three oceans.
Participating STF Tuna members have committed US$1.2 million in 2026, providing the first tranche of funding for the initiative.
The programme combines independent social compliance assessments of fishing vessels with practical remediation measures. Where assessments identify labour risks or non-conformities, vessel owners will be supported through structured corrective action plans, training and other measures aimed at delivering lasting improvements.
“Our Risk-based Assurance and Remediation Programme for the tuna industry is breaking new ground and is many years in the making,” said Martin Thurley, chief executive of the Seafood Task Force.
“As a market-based initiative, it’s designed to create scalable, worker-centred solutions that not only identify the scale of risk but help resolve them using STF hard data to deliver practical, collaborative remediation,” he said.
The programme focuses on three areas: capacity building, responsible recruitment and effective grievance mechanisms.
Capacity-building activities will address recurring risks identified through vessel assessments, with training and institutional support involving companies, government agencies and other stakeholders.
Responsible recruitment measures will target issues including recruitment fees, debt bondage, inadequate employment contracts and limited awareness of workers’ rights. Over the five-year programme, STF members aim to implement the Employer Pays Principle and establish systems to verify recruitment practices and remediate fees paid by crew members.
The initiative will also develop common industry guidelines for effective grievance mechanisms. Prepared with independent ESG consultancy Humantics, the guidelines will cover accessibility, governance, remediation and performance measurement.
Thurley said the initial investment would help establish a model that could eventually be adopted more widely.
“We are extremely grateful to the members funding the first phase of this programme,” he said. “It will demonstrate proof of concept and provide the platform to scale further as more end buyers, brands and mid-chain buyers across global tuna supply chains decide to join us.”
