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Deepening expertise on human rights in the fish and seafood industry

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We at the Food Network for Ethical Trade are happy to share that we will be sharpening our focus on human rights in the fish and seafood industry as we establish a Seafood Ethics Action Special Interest Group. This initiative will be the successor to SEA Alliance. Our Executive Director, Louise Nicholls, shares more about this below.

Integrating SEA Alliance into FNET

The Seafood Ethics Action (SEA) Alliance was founded in 2018, having been previously hosted and fiscally sponsored by Seafish Industry Authority. SEA Alliance was established as a pre-competitive collaborative initiative that brings together seafood businesses and retailers with the goal of strengthening human rights due diligence throughout global seafood supply chains. At the end of March 2026, the SEA Alliance found a new home within the Food Network for Ethical Trade.

At FNET, SEAA will be integrated into the Seafood Ethics Action (SEA) Special Interest Group. Given the overlap in membership and approach between FNET and SEA Alliance, this integration makes a lot of sense for members and will increase sector alignment and strengthen technical capacity. This group will focus on seafood-specific human rights due diligence, ethical concerns in fishing and aquaculture, supply chain transparency, and the Change on the Water programme delivery.

FNET has recruited a new Head of Seafood, who will set up and run the SEA Special Interest Group within FNET from July onwards. Members will benefit from improved cross-sector learning as more seafood companies engage in FNET working groups, contribute to case studies and support the escalation of serious issues, alongside better insights into high-risk global supply chains. For anyone considering FNET membership, the SEA Special Interest Group will be an optional add-on for companies looking to focus their attentions on their fish and seafood supply chains. It’s an exciting development for FNET to be able to offer this to prospective members.

Seafood Expo Global

And for those heading to the Seafood Expo Global in Barcelona, don’t miss a chance to hear from Julia Black, Senior Social Sustainability Manager at Hilton Foods, former Chair of the SEA Alliance Steering Committee, and FNET Board Member, and me. We will be presenting at an event co-hosted by LRQA, Conservation International, Fish Wise, FNET and Ocean Outcomes titled: “Moving beyond assessment: Practical approaches to HRDD in the Seafood Sector” on 22nd April.

This session will bring human rights due diligence in fish and seafood supply chains to life. It will hone in on how companies can go beyond assessments and embed meaningful action and worker engagement. This event is an invitation-only event for FNET and ETI members and Consortium partners. Attendees will explore case studies, discuss common challenges companies face in advancing HRDD efforts, and discover tools to support the effective implementation of HRDD.

If you’re interested in attending the event:

Please register here

Next steps for the SEA Special Interest Group

The integration of SEA Alliance into FNET and the establishment of the SEA Special Interest Group will take some time. Full services will resume from August onwards. In the meantime, for those interested in FNET and the SEA Special Interest Group, we encourage you to contact [email protected]. FNET’s team will be able to share some core information on what membership would look like, including pricing. Please note that more detailed enquiries will need to wait until the Head of Seafood joins FNET in July.

I wanted to say a huge thank you to Seafish for hosting the SEA Alliance from our inception until now. Their insight and support have been invaluable.  FNET’s board and the team are looking forward to establishing the SEA Special Interest Group and deepening FNET’s engagement on human rights within the fish and seafood sector.

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