Fishmeal sourcing standard revamp on cards to hike worker safety
In December Andy Jackson, technical director at the International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organization (IFFO), revealed the Board members involved in governing the IFFO's responsible sourcing (RS) global standard held discussions with the UK's fishing vessel best practice scheme, the RFS, in a bid to extend the remit of the IFFO award.
The move to widen the IFFO RS standard comes amid media exposes, particularly a report in the Guardian last June, alleging slavery in Thailand’s shrimp sector, with workers on boats supplying fisheries reporting horrific conditions, including 20-hour shifts, regular beatings, torture and execution-style killings.
Currently, the IFFO RS standard only involves the certification of fishmeal and fish oil factories, but the Board wants to broaden it so that the treatment of employees on raw material supply vessels would be included in audits.
