Marrfish Anti-Slavery Policy
Introduction
This statement sets out Marrfish Limited’s actions to understand all potential modern slavery risks related to its business and to put in place steps that are aimed at ensuring that there is no slavery or human trafficking in its own business and its supply chains.
Marrfish Limited is committed to taking the necessary actions to prevent the abuse of workers at all stages within our supply chain and to comply with the provisions of the UK2015 Modern Slavery Act.
This statement relates to actions and activities during the current financial year.
Organisational Structure
Founded in 2011 Marrfish Limited are engaged in the sourcing of fresh and frozen seafood worldwide for customers in the wholesale, catering and retail sectors. The main office and sales site is based in Bishops Stortford, with fresh fish processing facilities at Grimsby.
Seafood Supply Chain
As part of the global seafood industry our organisation recognises that it has a responsibility to take a robust approach to slavery and human trafficking.
The business is involved in the sourcing and procurement of seafood. As such we are aware of the risks and issues associated with the occurrence in the seafood supply chain, unwittingly or otherwise, of modern slavery.
Marrfish Limited considers slavery of any kind to be unacceptable from an ethical, moral,financial and reputational standpoint and will not knowingly or otherwise engage in trade with companies or their supply chains involved in this practice.
Our products may be sourced from wild marine fisheries in any of the world’s oceans orfarmed in land based or marine aquaculture sites.
Purchases may be made directly from fishing vessels, their agents, or from land basedprocessors and farms.
Our business makes purchases from the following countries:
Denmark, Faroe, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, United Kingdom.
Additionally it sells products that may be manufactured in the following countries:
Canada, China, Chile, Germany, India, Indonesia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Thailand, USA, Uruguay and Vietnam.
Risk assessment
The company assesses a supplier through a combination of self- audits using the ETI Base Code as a benchmark which is internationally recognised as a code of labour practice based on national law and international labour standards.
The company, through the response to these audits, analyses verifiable information about its suppliers’ ability to comply with the ETI Base Code and uses this information to make informed sourcing decisions.
Within the global seafood industry both the catching and processing sectors are, in some regions, known to carry the risk of having human rights issues. As examples, illegal migrant workers may be deceived into enduring prolonged periods of working on fishing vessels without payment or benefits and subjected to threats and physical abuse. The forced retention and abuse of illegal migrant and child labour in poorly regulated seafood processing factoriesare also well documented abuses of human rights.
It is recognised that fishing is a high risk occupation often voluntarily requiring long working hours in physically unpleasant conditions. Marrfish Limited is aware however through media articles, and NGO reports , of human rights abuses on board some fishing vessels where crews are forced to work in unsafe conditions without sleep or rest for excessive hours under threat of physical abuse.
Therefore our business will only source seafood directly or indirectly from known registered fishing vessels which comply with recognised international maritime codes of practice such as the Maritime Labour Convention. Again the relevant clauses of the ETI Base Code apply.
Processing factories are required to meet with the requirements of the ETI Base Code as part of our supplier approval procedures.
Our supplier approval procedure which includes our form Supplier Ethical Questionnaire is the responsibility of the Joshua Cooper Operations Assistant who is responsible for food safety on site, with accountability being with the Managing Director.
We expect our suppliers to comply with our ethical standards. As such, and as part of our supplier approval process, we will formally request each supplier respond to confirm that they meet with anti -slavery and human trafficking considerations within their own business. Further to this that they carry out due diligence procedures with respect to slavery and human trafficking in the selection of their own suppliers.
This end to end supply chain analysis identifies risks which includes the handling or purchase of product which may have been caught or processed by the use of forced or trafficked labour.
Risk is assessed by supplier, country of origin and the mitigations and considerations that are in place to ensure that illegal labour and human trafficking risks are assessed.
Andrew Jackson
Managing Director
Marrfish Ltd
Date: 26th July, 2024