ALDI welcomes the release of the Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard

The ALDI SOUTH Group has supported the UK’s Seafish and Global Seafood Assurances (GSA) develop their new Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard (RFVS). This voluntary standard is a global fishing vessel-based certification programme, which enables fishing operations to provide assurance of decent working conditions and operational best practice from catch to shore.

In 2018, our human rights risk assessment identified fish and seafood as a raw material with a high risk of human rights violations. As an international retailer with multiple supply chains, we see the development of a vessel-based standard as an important contribution to close the assurance gap in the fish and seafood supply chain.

“It is now recognised that assurance of good crew welfare on fishing vessels is critically important and inseparable from good environmental management.”

Melanie Siggs, Europe and Board Director for GSA

Seafish and Global Seafood Assurances (GSA) developed the revised standard in collaboration with the industry. The vessel-based standard is a global certification programme to certify various types of fishing vessels - from large tuna vessels to small coastal operating fishing vessels. The proposed standard has already been tested on vessels around the world in order to check its feasibility. We will continue to support the pilot period of the standard.