Seafood Ethics Action Alliance
About the Seafood Ethics Action Alliance (SEA Alliance)
The SEA Alliance was established by seafood businesses in 2018. It provides a platform for industry to agree best practice solutions, to respond to ethical issues in the supply chain and to enable pre-competitive action.
It does this via meetings, information sharing between members, and where needed, the creation of working groups to work together on the required actions. We provide the secretariat for the group.
This work reflects the PAS 1550:2017 Code of Practice on Exercising due diligence in establishing the legal origin of seafood products and marine ingredients. It also takes into account:
- The British Retail Consortium's Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing Advisory Note (2015)
- The International Labour Organisation's 188 Work in Fishing Convention and other appropriate instruments.
SEA Alliance activities build on the work of the Seafood Ethics Common Language Group. Follow the link below to find out more about the Group.
SEA Alliance participants
The SEA Alliance includes processors, retailers and food service businesses. You can take part in alliance activities if you are a commercial market organisation based in the UK which sources seafood nationally or internationally.
To fully participate you need to commit to positively engage in pre-competitive action, adhere to competition law and to maintain the confidentiality of discussions.
The SEA Alliance uses the knowledge and expertise of the Seafood Industry Alliance and the British Retail Consortium to push for change.
- View the list of SEA Alliance participants (March 2022)
SEA Alliance Steering Committee
A steering group has been formed to
- plan meeting agendas;
- to agree, prioritise, and co-ordinate actions discussed at the meetings; and
- to review progress.
- See the members of the SEA Alliance Steering Committee. February 2022.
SEA Alliance meetings
Meetings are generally held twice a year after the Seafood Ethics Common Language Group meetings. The presentations and minutes from the most recent meetings are below. Presentations and minutes from previous meetings are available from Karen Green.
Presentations from SEA Alliance meetings
- SEA Alliance presentation - working conditions in UK fishing (18 May 2022)
- SEA Alliance update session on our risk assessment work (19 November 2021)
- Update on progress of FisheryProgress new social policy (10 November 2021)
- SEA Alliance update on work plan for 2021 to 2023 (11 June 2021)
- FisheryProgress new social policy for Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) (11 June 2021)
- New Roadmap for Improving Seafood Ethics (RISE) platform (11 June 2021)
- PAS 1550:2017 Implementation guidance and flow charts (11 February 2021)
- Global Seafood Assurances (GSA) worker voice on fishing vessels project (24 November 2020)
Notes on SEA Alliance face-to-face meetings
SEA Alliance policies and activities
In May 2021, the SEA Alliance was awarded a grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation to support its work, increase industry leadership and encourage positive change in human rights issues across the seafood supply chains of UK companies. This funding creates an opportunity for the SEA Alliance to support participating businesses to better understand human rights risks in fisheries.
- SEA Alliance Human Rights Allegation Engagement Group. January 2022
- SEA Alliance Terms of Reference. January 2022
- SEA Alliance Membership Information. January 2022
We are currently developing our plans for the next two years. Provisional details are below.
SEA Alliance position statements
As a collective voice the SEA Alliance will in specific instances support and engage with advocacy initiatives. The SEA Alliance will also make statements and respond when there are concerns about ethical issues in the supply chain.
These advocacy initiatives will always be supported by the great majority of SEA Alliance participants but they do not necessarily represent the views of every participant organisation on every occasion.
These statements can be viewed below.
Contacts
For further information please contact:
Andy Hickman Head of the Seafood Ethics Action Alliance
Karen Green Seafood Ethics Action Alliance Secretariat