New posters unveiled at Victoria and St James’ Park Underground stations in London are calling on the UK Government to take urgent action to stop seafood imports linked to illegal fishing, human rights abuses and the intentional killing of marine wildlife.
The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) campaign urges politicians to end the UK’s complicity in seafood crime by strengthening import controls and ensuring consumers can trust the fish on their plates. The posters direct Londoners to ”Criminal Catches”, a new report and film revealing how illegal, unsustainable and abusive fishing is going unchecked in UK supply chains.
According to the NGO, since Brexit, critical checks on imported seafood have collapsed to almost zero, “leaving the UK effectively blind” to whether products entering the market are tied to forced, bonded or slave labour or environmental crimes. Using official government data and EJF investigations, Criminal Catches found that imports from high-risk countries, including China and Russia, face almost no scrutiny.
It highlights that despite extensive evidence of illegal fishing and human rights abuses in its fleet, the UK has refused just four seafood consignments from China in over a decade.
“These billboards are a message to the heart of government,” EJF CEO Steve Trent said. “Right now, the UK is allowing seafood linked to slavery, illegal fishing and wildlife destruction into our market. British consumers want and deserve better. We have the power and the responsibility to make sure that the fish we eat is caught legally, sustainably and without abuse.”
The posters, placed at busy stations near government departments, aim to pressure ministers to act.
EJF is calling for the UK to modernise its seafood import system, restore proper inspections, and introduce a ‘carding’ system to warn and sanction countries failing to tackle illegal fishing.
The organisation says that implementing the Global Charter for Fisheries Transparency, which includes no- or low-cost actions the government could take now, such as improved vessel tracking and disclosure of who profits from fishing operations, would be a simple, effective step towards restoring integrity and leadership in the UK seafood trade.
