The Conch Podcast features interviews

with the most inspiring people in the world of seafood.

Join Julie Kuchepatov,

founder of Seafood and Gender Equality (SAGE),

as she interviews people striving

to succeed in the sector, as well as those already making an impact,

and the challenges they face -

all while working to improve

the environmental and social responsibility

of the planet’s most incredible food source - seafood!


 
 

Seafood can change hands many times before it reaches your plate, which is why we need to know about all of the hard-working people who helped get it there. 

Were they treated fairly? Are their rights being respected and upheld? 

Here to help answer those questions and ensure human rights due diligence across seafood supply chains is Dr. Katrina Nakamura, CEO of Sustainability Incubator! 

Tune into Season 4, Episode 9 to catch Katrina’s insights into what’s happening with forced labor in seafood, how women influence FIPs (aka: Fishery Improvement Projects), and how her diverse career path led her to the current impactful work she does today. 

Audio production and sound design by Crystal Sanders-Alvarado for Seaworthy.

Episode Transcript

Episode Guide

  • :00 Intro

  • 01:34 Dr. Katrina Nakamura walks us through human rights due diligence in seafood: what it is and why it’s critical.

  • 04:42 There are two types of human rights abuses in seafood supply chains—Katrina breaks it down.

  • 10:13  Labor is the first place the seafood industry squeezes to cut costs of production. Why are low labor costs becoming less of an asset and quickly becoming a liability?

  • 15:50: Katrina shares the two things that are driving improvements in labor conditions in the sector. 

  • 18:26 As one of the biggest investments a company has, labor means a lot. The Labor Safe Screen is a human rights due diligence service that shows the value the company places on the relationships with their labor force.

  • 24:09  You’ve uncovered abuses in your supply chains, how do you respond?  

  • 29:42 The time for forced labor in seafood supply chains is up as human rights due diligence is becoming mandatory globally.

  • 33:25 The victim, the villain, and the hero: Is there a correlation between environmental sustainability and forced labor?

  • 37:50  Fishery Improvement Projects: what are they and how are women influencing fisheries progress in innovative, yet invisible, ways?

  • 46:22 Sidelining women and upholding barriers to leadership have very real consequences that hold back progress.

  • 49:32 Katrina uplifts an angel!

Resources: 

  1. Explore Katrina’s work on human rights due diligence at Sustainability Incubator.

  2. Read more from the International Labor Organization (ILO) about forced labor and human trafficking in fisheries.

  3. Recommend this episode to one person who is concerned about forced labor in seafood production.


The Conch podcast is a program of Seafood and Gender Equality (SAGE).

Audio production, engineering, editing, mixing, and sound design by Crystal Sanders-Alvarado for Seaworthy.

Theme music: “Dilation” by Satan's Pilgrims

 Funding generously provided by