I’m contacting you in light of our latest investigation, which concerns the use of forced labor in China’s seafood processing industry, and a link we’ve discovered with several plants that have Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certifications.
Our investigation has identified 6 ASC certified seafood processing facilities in China using forced labor from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. We have found evidence of the presence of Uyghur forced labor at the following five sites over a multi-year period: Rongcheng Haibo Seafood Co. Ltd. (ASC-C-03831) Rizhao Meijia Keyuan Foods Co. Ltd. (…
Thank you for getting in touch and for informing us about your investigation and findings. This information is very concerning to ASC. We were not aware of the extent to which the Xinjiang labour transfer programme expanded outside of the Xinjiang Region and the risks that this presents to employees of seafood operations in other provinces across China, until your investigation brought this to our attention.
The protection and promotion of human rights are a key part of Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC)’s mission and vision, and we strongly condemn all forms of forced labour. ASC has a ro…
Thanks for confirming that the listed companies have undertaken SMETA audits. Could you please share the specific audit dates for each plant and, if you're able, the identity of the firm conducting the audit?
The new module you've shared refers to violations of "applicable laws and regulations relevant to the ‘scope of the CoC Standard’" - would that include the US Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act? And may I clarify that your position is that the CoC certification of a plant would be revoked if an ASC investigation determines the presence of Xinjiang workers deployed through government labo…
I’m taking over the correspondence in Daisy’s absence. I just wanted to let you know that we haven’t ‘forgotten’ at all. This issue is of great concern to us and we are chasing leads to gather information to be in a position to best answer your questions. I hope to be able to answer you tomorrow and/but realistically it may be next week before you hear from us."
I’d like to assure you that we will be responding to your query and are doing our utmost that regard. These are rightfully very important topics and questions. As much as we’d like to be able to provide you with those in a speedy manner, we need to reach out for information, and to consult with the right people within our organisation… some of whom are currently on holiday and cannot be reached at this time. Realistically it will be mid-next week before we can revert to you.
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed Desirée Pesci and Bertrand Charron at the ASC, asking if they would respond to the earlier queries by the end of the week.
Please find below ASC’s responses and clarifications to your questions, without prejudice.
[1] “Could you please share the specific audit dates for each plant and, if you're able, [2] the identity of the firm conducting the audit?” We are unfortunately unable to assist regarding this information as the data which is included in individual SMETA audit reports – to which ASC does not have access – cannot be released as this would breach Sedex member confidentiality, as defined by Sedex Terms of Service.
[3] The new module you've shared refers to violations of "applicable laws and regulations r…