The Seafood Task Force (STF), a U.S.-based nonprofit trade association representing major retailers, brands, foodservice companies, and supply chain partners, has added 17 new members from Asia in a bid to promote sustainable and responsible seafood practices in the region.
These additions, inked during a recent STF summit in Bangkok, Thailand, included companies from India, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Devi Sea Foods, India's top shrimp exporter, was among them.
This move marks a significant expansion of STF’s geographical footprint, growing its existing base of 30 seafood industry members by over 50 percent, according to an STF statement.
“We’re delighted to welcome major global suppliers to the STF community as we expand our reach in Asia Pacific. They will add invaluable country-specific insights as well as extensive industry experience to the task force as we continue to make progress on worker rights, conversion-free farmed shrimp, and sustainable sourcing across both shrimp and tuna supply chains,” STF Executive Director Martin Thurley said. “By leveraging supply chain partnerships and making decisions together, we are driving real impact. We help retailers, seafood and pet food brands, supply chain partners, and NGOs worldwide work toward ensuring confidence to trade. That goal becomes increasingly achievable as our membership grows.”
The STF was established in 2014 to rebuild trust in global trade amid concerns of social and environmental misconduct occurring within global tuna and shrimp supply networks. Members are dedicated to producing seafood that is fully traceable, ethically sourced, and environmentally sustainable, according to the task force, in accordance with international standards and increasing due diligence demands.
To achieve these goals, the Seafood Task Force has developed 10-point plan to ensure ethical decision-making throughout the entire supply chain, including mandating traceability by all members through demonstrable actions; strengthened oversight of tuna supply chains via a scalable initiative; enhanced worker recruitment practices through a responsible recruitment program; development of a draft environmental code of conduct for aquaculture; and the implementation of safeguards to prevent natural habitat conversion into shrimp farms, among other actions.
That 10-point plan is active throughout Asia, as the STF recently announced Alpha World Link and International Focus – both based in Myanmar – have become the pioneering recruitment agencies in the seafood sector to attain On The Level (OTL) recruitment certification, particularly within the Myanmar-to-Thailand recruitment corridor. Around 30 more agencies across Asia and Australia have signed up to undergo certification as ethical recruiters through its OTL program.
In Thailand, the task force is also actively working to reduce the depletion of natural resources and mitigate carbon emissions caused by aquaculture operations.
“What you have to understand is that there was no awareness of labor laws and environmental regulations previously,” Prasert Leewattanakan, a co-owner of two small shrimp farms in Surat Thani, Thailand, said in a task force press release. “We never knew about the requirements and how to manage our farms to meet them. The prospect of audits, training, and documentation seemed very daunting at first, but we have been supported in everything – step by step – through the Seafood Task Force; we really see the value in what they do.”
Annually, all STF members self-declare their activities in supply chain mapping, risk assessment, and traceability, enabling effective sharing of insights and the identification of exemplary practices among members.
A panel of STF members, comprising representatives from Ahold Delhaize, Bumble Bee, Costco, Mars Petcare, StarKist, Thai Union, Walmart, and WWF, will highlight the association’s current work and future plans for the industry during a panel at Seafood Expo North America in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. on 10 March 2024.
