The Ocean Actions Index

SUPPORT workers’ efforts to organize, as is their legal right.

DEMAND that local, regional, and federal governments enforce stronger standards, so that 100 percent of plastic and other waste is being recycled.

CALL on elected officials to push for stronger protections for the oceans and their workers.

VOLUNTEER with NGOs, unions or local governments that protect the oceans and their workers.

SIGN petitions demanding stronger actions to address crime at sea.

PROMOTE coastal communities and marine-protected areas that ban industrial activities (with the exception of the development of offshore wind and renewable energy).

PROTEST for issues about which you feel most passionate.

VOTE for candidates who actively work to protect the oceans and their workers.

LEARN about the labor and environmental concerns tied with the watery two thirds of the planet.

BUY from companies with public sustainable seafood and human rights policies.

ASK your restaurateur/grocer if they know who caught their seafood, where it came from, and if it is free of illegal fishing and forced labor.

AVOID buying farmed carnivorous fish.

DECREASE the single-use plastic products you buy, and the waste you produce.

DIVEST from companies that do not prioritize sustainability and human rights.

QUESTION certification schemes relating to seafood or fishmeal.

INTERROGATE blue washing terms for carnivorous farmed fish such as “wild farmed” or “sustainably farmed.”

SHIFT away from fossil fuels by transitioning to renewables.

TRANSITION to a plant-based diet.

BUY what is harvested nearby, underutilized, and in season.

DISCUSS the state of the oceans and their workers with the people around you.

SUBSCRIBE to the Outlaw Ocean newsletter for updates on our investigations.

FOLLOW the Outlaw Ocean on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

CONTRIBUTE financially to support non-profit investigative journalism and organizations working to protect the oceans and their workers.

DISSEMINATE reporting on the world’s oceans on social media and email it to others, and counter misinformation by pushing rigor and facts in exchanges with others.

ESTABLISH catch limits and quotas that leave more fish in the sea.

REQUIRE governments and companies to recognize the whole ecosystem including a recognition of fish that ends up not just for human consumption but also animal feed.

INCENTIVIZE, protect and enable workers, including migrants, to organize.

BAN recruitment fees.

VERIFY that employers covered the cost of recruitment, and require companies to repay workers for any fees they paid out of their own pockets.

REGULATE crewing agencies.

FORBID passport confiscation.

ESTABLISH minimum standards and accreditation for all international fishing-crew providers.

END restrictive visa regimes for migrants working in the fishing industry and ensure all migrants have the same rights as nationals.

PROVIDE workers with free, safe access to satellite-based wifi 24/7.

END transhipment at sea.

LIMIT time ships can keep workers on a vessel or offshore to less than one year.

REQUIRE that adequate and safe food is available and that dietary supplements be provided to crew to avoid nutritional deficiencies.

MANDATE that captains cease all fishing activities and provide necessary assistance in the event a crew member is seriously injured or falls overboard.

PUT observers on ships, adopt the International Observers Bill of Rights, and have them report labor and fishery violations.

REQUIRE onboard cameras, possibly as a complement to human observers, to further monitor compliance with labor and fishing rules.

GRANT access to a country’s port only if the ship is willing to show marine/worker documents, including crew lists and contracts.

REQUIRE companies to map their supply chains, keep them updated and make them public.

MAKE bills of lading, import records, labor contracts and crew manifests public (with personal privacy details protected.)

STRENGTHEN and harmonize import control rules across countries for the sake of keeping illegal fishing products and goods made with forced labor out of markets.

PREVENT those same banned goods from being dumped in other countries that have weaker laws or enforcement.

PARTNER with allies to address human rights issues through diplomatic channels and ensure that no one profits from abuses at sea or on land.

CONSULT with local communities in the creation of marine-protected areas.

PROTECT the rights of citizens to their public commons including access to shores and waterways.

RATIFY International Labor Organization Conventions No. 188 and 166, which concern wages, hours, and safety and seafarer repatriation.

RATIFY the Port State Measures Agreement, a UN treaty that outlines rules for how ships visiting a nation’s port should be inspected.

INCREASE enforcement of laws and other regulations at sea by sanctioning and prosecuting companies and individuals that violate human rights laws.

CONDUCT routine unannounced spot checks of ships and plants to inspect for violations.

REQUIRE ships to keep location monitoring transponders activated always and share this data publicly.

MAKE tracking data for fishing and commercial ships public and universal.

LAUNCH a new grid of satellites so that the public can monitor sea traffic.

MANDATE all ships to have unique identifying numbers (like license plates).

ELIMINATE harmful subsidies that underwrite industrial fishing.

SHRINK the size of industrial fishing fleets.

PROHIBIT destructive gears such as gill or bottom trawling nets, demersal seines and drifting fish aggregating devices (FADs).

BAN shark finning.

BAN all carnivorous open net pen fish farms in coastal and offshore waters.

PROHIBIT the use of feed that is made from wild fish.

IMPOSE high fees to limit single-use plastics.

USE satellites to identify ships that dump oil or other waste at sea.

END use of the dirtiest types of ship fuel.

REDUCE offshore oil and gas drilling.

MEASURE and track greenhouse gas emissions from ships and throughout the supply chain.

INCREASE investments in marine renewable-energy sources such as offshore wind and solar power.

EXPAND, create new, and better police marine-protected areas.

REQUIRE ship operators to disclose who their owners and captains are and any illegal fishing or human rights infractions in their histories.

INCREASE public access to key documents such as vessel licenses, authorizations, and lists of suppliers.

PUBLISH lists of ships with previous environmental or labor infractions.

REQUIRE buyers to publish and keep updated a list of the vessels and landing ports from which their products are sourced.

ADOPT the Global Charter for Fisheries Transparency.

LEGISLATE mandatory due diligence laws that require companies to prevent, address, and remedy adverse human rights and environmental impacts within their supply chain.

REFORM international fisheries agreements to ensure the costs associated with access to the waters of a foreign country are fully borne by the shipowners benefiting from the agreement.

ENSURE that international fisheries agreements are based on assessments of target stocks that are less than 10 years old.

LIMIT the inclusion of industrial lobbies in official delegations when States participate in international negotiations so that their presence is in equal proportion to non-industrial stakeholders.

SUPPORT the adoption of an international moratorium on seabed mining within the International Seabed Authority (ISA).

SUPPORT the adoption of an international moratorium on all commercially industrial activities developed in the polar regions, with the sole exception of those historically carried out by local communities.

REQUIRE that companies deploy operational, accessible and safe alert mechanisms for workers at sea and on land.

ORGANIZE exit interviews by independent auditors with crew when they return to shore.

OVERSEE risk assessments to identify possible human rights abuses presented by business operations.

PRODUCE and make public human rights policies and due diligence roadmaps in line with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct and U.N. Guiding Principles.

REGISTER with and provide information on seafood sourcing to the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership’s Ocean Disclosure Project.

DEMONSTRATE full chain traceability for all seafood products, and make the results public (including vessels, labor agents, and beneficial owners) so companies can accomplish due diligence in identifying risks and investigating issues.

ADOPT POLICIES including the Employer Pays Principle and a ban on transshipment at sea.

PREVENT trafficking risk by supporting accreditation of recruitment agencies and screening suppliers for signs of forced labor and debt bondage.

MONITOR crew wellbeing through free and secure wifi at sea.

STOP relying exclusively on voluntary certifications and social audits, which have significant limitations, and start self-examining supply chains.

ENSURE that all supply vessels are not included on illegal fishing vessel blacklists, including those established by the European Union and regional fisheries management organizations.

COMMIT to cease any commercial relationship with a supplier who has been involved in any form of human right violation in the last five years, throughout the value chain.

STOP sourcing from overfished species.

PRIORITIZE the supply of seafood products from short distribution channels.