Catholic charity Stella Maris, which provides chaplain services to fishermen and other seafarers around the world, wants to play a leading role in crafting an internationally recognized seafood certification focused on improving labor standards.
Founded in Scotland in 1920, Stella Maris now has a network of chaplains in over 60 countries who offer pastoral guidance to workers at sea. The group has also actively promoted workers’ labor rights in areas such as Southeast Asia, the U.K., and more.
“While 10 percent of the cases [we handle] include fishermen, these cases account for 30 percent of our most complex cases,” Stella Maris CEO Tim Hill told SeafoodSource. “Seafarers tend to have more robust contracts. Fishers tend to have slightly less formal contracts. There are also frequent cases of labor bondage.”
In order to effect change, Hill said he believes stakeholders need to harness consumer power, and with popular schemes like the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) stepping away from calls to emphasize labor standards in their certification processes, he wants Stella Maris to find a partner that can jointly develop an effective labor credential, helping to fill a current gap in the industry.
“We want to ally with a [seafood sustainability] group. As a charity, we bring a certain weight. People listen to us,” he said.
In the development process, Hill said the right questions have to be asked.
“How do you define standards, how do you measure them, and how do you demonstrate improvement?” he asked.