FishWise has closely followed recent criticism directed at the Thai government for labor and human rights abuses occurring in the country for years without significant improvement. Evidence of human trafficking, forced labor and other human rights abuses within the Thai shrimp industry were described by The Guardian and further substantiated by the 2014 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report released by the U.S. State Department this June. European and U.S. retailers have been linked to these labor and human rights abuses publicly, and the U.S. Department of State downgraded Thailand to the lowest ranking (Tier 3) in the human trafficking index.

FishWise has drafted a briefing document on this issue. The briefing describes the primary human rights issues in the Thai shrimp supply chains, summarizes the Guardian article and TIP report, and provides recommendations for seafood buyers in the U.S. and EU. FishWise will continue to monitor this issue closely and will update the brief with new information.

You can view the briefing document here.