Labor abuse is a dangerous problem in the seafood industry, and devastating for the victims and their families. A new initiative—Collaborative Accelerator for Lawful Maritime Conditions in Seafood, or CALM-CS—is bringing attention to the problem of labor abuse in the seafood sector.
On this episode of Dive In with NOAA Fisheries, we'll speak with Alexa Cole, the director of NOAA Fisheries Office of International Affairs, Trade and Commerce and the Chair of CALM-CS. Its goal is to facilitate public-private partnerships between governmental and non-governmental collaborators, such as industry, academic institutions, and non-governmental organizations. It will promote legal and safe working conditions throughout the fishing and seafood industry.
Although labor abuse is an international issue, it is a key concern for the United States, which has one of the largest seafood markets in the world. CALM-CS seeks to support collaboration between partners, leverage technology, explore novel sources of information, and identify best practices to ensure that seafood entering the United States is not harvested using illegal or unsafe labor practices.