The Seafood Ethics Common Language Group | Seafish
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The Seafood Ethics Common Language Group

A group which brings people together to find out more about ethical sourcing and issues concerning labour and worker welfare.



The Seafood Ethics Common Language Group (SECLG) provides a safe meeting space to discuss the key ethical issues faced by the international seafood industry. The group looks at social welfare issues that affect the UK seafood supply chain, whether in the UK or seafood imported into the UK. This covers human trafficking, labour abuses, child labour, debt bondage, forced labour, migrant workers, and modern slavery. It is an opportunity to share new ideas or best practice case studies from around the world. 
 
The group is led by our industry and we take responsibility for running the SECLG. The Group has met since 2014. The SECLG brings together seafood industry representatives from major supermarket chains, smaller retailers, processors, foodservice and the catching sector.  Other people who attend are not-for-profit voluntary groups, welfare charities, consumer groups, government and social research scientists. 

There are generally three meetings a year and the details from the most recent meetings are below.  

We are running a mix of in person meetings and shorter online SECLG sessions. 

Next meeting

There are generally three meetings each year, two online and one in person.  

Next meetings: 

  • Thursday 29th January 2026, online, 2-3:30PM, ‘Advancing Ethical Practices in UK Fisheries’.  

Previous meetings

Presentations from previous meetings, where we have author consent, are available upon request by emailing issuesgroups@seafish.co.uk. 

SECLG online meeting ‘Smart Data: the Future of Seafood Ethics’ (4 June) 

This meeting explored new and innovative ways to understand the ethics of the supply chain, using lessons learnt and showcasing ways to help the seafood sector collect data effectively and efficiently. 

  • Assessing and monitoring compliance using technology. Camille de Rosa, Fair Hiring Initiative
  • Using vessel electronic monitoring to monitor for labour abuses. Alejandro Lopez-Serrano, The Nature Conservancy.
  • Collecting quality ethics data. Julia Black, Hilton Foods. 

SECLG in-person 23 October 2025, ‘Delivering Human Rights Assurances in the Seafood Industry’ 

Morning session: Strengthening current practice in the seafood industry 

  • Current landscape of ethical assurance in seafood and supply chains, and the key issues faced, Brett Dodge, Ergon Associates 
  • UK and international tools and methodologies supporting human rights due diligence, Paul Chalmers, Sedex 
  • Reflecting on systems that connect social and environmental processes, using learning from other industries, Suzy Fogg, ISEAL Alliance 
  • Challenges and opportunities as a retailer in providing human rights assurances, Heather Webb, Co-op  
  • Are human rights approaches robust?, Ashley Aarons, Oxfam 

Afternoon session: Informing human rights assessments: regulatory and policy updates 

  • Introducing the Fair Work Agency and future plans, Samantha Ireland, GLAA 
  • Update on UK marine monitoring observations, Andy Vidamour, Border Force 
  • Evolution of EU CSDDD over the last year and implications for industry, David Rousseau and Priyanka Kanani, Impactt 
  • The impact of recent legislative updates on the ground, Marc Evans, The Fisherman’s Mission 

SECLG newsletters

We send regular emails with a round up of stories, research and projects in the seafood industry. Subscribe to receive our updates and meeting details.

Terms of Reference and archive

  • We have archived presentations from previous SECLG meetings. These are available upon request by emailing issuesgroups@seafish.co.uk.

Contacts

For further information, please contact: issuesgroups@seafish.co.uk.

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