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The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), Oceana, The Pew Charitable Trusts (Pew) and WWF are working together to support the harmonised and effective implementation of the European Union’s Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

EJF, SeaWeb Europe and WWF-France released a detailed joint “Advisory Note” in collaboration with Carrefour to inform French industry, retailers and brands of the risks associated with illegal fishing

Slavery, ‘pirate’ fishing and other serious crimes continue to plague Thailand’s seafood sector.

EJF believes that solutions to 'pirate' fishing and slavery in Thailand’s fishing sector are available, practical and achievable through a multi-track approach emphasising leadership, coordinated joint action and genuine commitment from all stakeholders. This report recalls and builds on the recommendations made in EJF’s 2015 report Pirates and Slaves. EJF also acknowledges and reiterates all recommendations made to Thailand in the 2015 US Department of State Trafficking in Persons report.

Life without bees is unimaginable. Help us to give them food and a home, and end the use of harmful pesticides in our gardens and on our farms.

Bees support not only the variety of the food we eat, but the quality and nutritional value. Their contribution to the global economy for providing free pollinator services is estimated at £130 billion; and here in the UK, around £510 million that is ‘donated’ to the national economy.

Falling Through The Cracks is intended as an overview of the legal and policy frameworks governing climate-induced displacement at the international level.

It aims to inform policymakers and interested individuals about the range of relevant legal and policy instruments and to assess how effective these various options are at responding to the issue of climate-induced displacement.

EJF's briefing highlights the lack of adequate legal and policy frameworks governing climate-induced displacement at the international level. It finds that the 'protection gap' is more like a series of holes, suggesting the need for a new global framework which is both broad in scope and sufficiently sensitive to the needs of multiple populations of concern.

EJF’s review of the Thai Government’s actions in the last year concludes that the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking have not been met, and EJF strongly recommends that Thailand remains on Tier 3 in the 2015 TIP Report, as a clear signal to the Thai Government that a substantive programme of actions and series of reforms must be implemented.

The report outlines an approach to prevent IUU fishery products from entering UK supply chains. It offers expert advice on risk assessment and risk mitigation, and encourages action to prevent IUU fishery products entering UK supply chains, which is costly on a number of levels.

Designing and implementing an effective IUU fishing due diligence process provides an opportunity for UK retailers and brands to support the global fight against IUU fishing, and help secure the future viability and health of global fisheries, while also reducing potential reputational and legal risks in seafood supply chains.

The report reveals new evidence of human trafficking and the use of violence in the Thai fishing industry and inaction on the part of the Government to identify and prosecute criminals, corrupt officials and unscrupulous business operators, or to enforce measures to regulate fishing fleets and recruitment practices.

The report and film detail testimonies of the 14 men rescued from a port in Kantang - first reported in Sold to the Sea - one year since their rescue. They also document the story of a 21 year old individual from Myanmar who was trafficked and forced to work on a Thai fishing boat in March 2013, before eventually escaping in December after 10 months of unpaid work aboard the boat.

Featuring testimonies recorded during investigations in 2012, Impossibly Cheap: Abuse and Injustice in Bangladesh’s Shrimp Industry documents examples of hazardous working conditions, the use of child labour, bonded labour, withholding of pay, excessively low wages, health and safety violations, restricted union activities, verbal abuse and excessive hours.

Impossibly Cheap: Abuse and Injustice in Bangladesh’s Shrimp Industry follows EJF's The Hidden Cost report, published in September 2013, which documents accounts of human trafficking into the Thai shrimp industry, confiscation of identification documents, withholding of pay, forced detention and bonded labour.

This innovative legal tool has placed the EU at the forefront of efforts to address pirate fishing. Whilst it has the potential to leave a positive legacy in the fight against IUU fishing, evidence demonstrates that a lack of coordination and uniformity in its implementation risks compromising its intended objectives.

Diversions of fish consignments to Member State ports with poorer controls than those of their neighbours and a growing trend in containerisation of fish suggest a need for more consistent implementation efforts and increased trade flow scrutiny. The absence of any vessels in the IUU Vessel Community List identified independently by Member States or by the European Commission is also concerning.

The report exposes severe human rights abuses associated with human trafficking in Thailand's fishing industry and documents the testimonies of Burmese workers, as young as 16, who were forced onto fishing vessels for many months and subjected to arduous, often violent, working conditions without pay.

The report details testimonies of crew murdered at sea, and on shore, and the shocking figure from a 2009 survey by the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP) that found 59% of interviewed migrants trafficked aboard Thai fishing boats reported witnessing the murder of a fellow worker.

This report by EJF exposes the continued role of the European Union and East Asian countries in facilitating a market for seafood illegally caught in West Africa. Following a two-year investigation by The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), “Pirate Fishing Exposed: The Fight Against Illegal Fishing in West Africa and the EU” highlights how local fishing communities are fighting back to combat this illegal trade.

During the two-year surveillance investigation, EJF documented rampant pirate fishing in Sierra Leone and laundering of the illegal catch into the European seafood market by vessels accredited to export fish to the EU.

Cotton production can be a pathway to development and is an important livelihood option for millions of people. However, production can have unintended social and environmental impacts, in particular this report outlines the role that it plays in contributing to water insecurity.

Cotton is one of the thirstiest crops in the world. Each year 198 cubic gigametres (Gm3) of water are used just to grow cotton and even more is used in processing it. ‘Cheap’ cotton is fuelling unsustainable production, and consumers commonly do not pay a price which reflects these costs. More than 80 percent of the water footprint of cotton consumption in EU member states is located outside Europe, in countries such as China, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan.

The draining of the Aral Sea in Central Asia stands as one of the most damning examples of unsustainable cotton production. The Aral Sea was once the fourth largest inland sea in the world, stretching across an area of 66,000km2. In less than a generation, it has shrunk to 10 percent of its former volume.

An EJF briefing outlining the legal void facing environmentally-induced displacees with recommendations for action for national governments and individuals.

The report reveals the widespread use of state-sponsored forced child labour in the cotton fields of the Central Asian Republic of Uzbekistan, the world’s 3rd largest cotton exporter and a major supplier to both European traders and ultimately, the EU marketplace.

Its release coincides with the tenth anniversary of the landmark International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour.

EJF considers that the Commonwealth has a key role in addressing the unsustainable exploitation of global fisheries, both within the waters of Commonwealth countries and those of the international community. Global fisheries have effectively reached their maximum sustainable yield and if strong action by world leaders is not taken now, there will be severe economic, social and ecological consequences. Vulnerable coastal communities in developing countries are most at risk, as they often depend on fisheries for their livelihoods and food security.

As a first step in community engagement, and to inform the other sets of activities in Liberia, in early 2012 EJF held meetings in 13 communities. These were spread across the country, though seven were focused in Grand Cape Mount County, which is the site of Liberia’s recently inaugurated pilot CMA.

This document sets out findings from each community. It also provides an analytical summary of results across Liberia that will inform a set of working recommendations that will guide EJF’s work with artisanal fishing communities, both in Liberia and elsewhere in West Africa.

Prawn production has been linked to a number of environmental problems and human rights abuses. This guide aims to clarify the issues and help you make the right choices when buying prawns.

Alternative report for the 42nd Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

EJF is working with our partners to secure a legally-binding, international protocol that can fill the existing gaps in legislation and ensure that the refugee support system evolves within the context of our changing world. This new legal instrument would recognize people displaced by deteriorating environmental conditions associated with climate change as a vulnerable social group, and confer them equivalent but legally distinct protection to that conferred to refugees fleeing persecution under the 1951 Geneva Convention. This briefing outlines specific recommendations for the EU, including the need to systemically link aid and development, environment and migration policies and decision-making.

Describes our trip to Vietnam to learn more about the Vietnamese shrimp farming industry, as part of our campaign for sustainable shrimp production.

This report describes the development, current status and future targets of shrimp aquaculture in the Socialist Republic Of Vietnam (henceforth Vietnam). We highlight the social and environmental importance of mangrove and wetland habitats and demonstrate the decline in such ecosystems due to shrimp aquaculture. We characterise the economics of shrimp aquaculture, both nationally and at the local level, and highlight the industry’s key problems. Finally we describe a range of alternatives and solutions, and present recommendations to the Government of Vietnam, the international donor community, non-governmental organisations and the governments of shrimp-importing countries.

The report summarises the abuses and problems associated with shrimp production in Bangladesh, while defining potential solutions. Researched over an 18-month period, it incorporates over 250 references and, crucially, the personal testimony of Bangladeshi individuals directly affected by the shrimp industry.

This report is one of a series documenting EJF’s international investigations into the social, economic and environmental impacts resulting from shrimp production and consumption.

http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/index_en.htm

This report sets out the historic and existing governance arrangements for artisanal fishing in the Sherbro River Estuary, where fishing is vital to the livelihoods and food security of local communities.

How EU hygiene standards facilitate illegal fishing in West Africa.

EJF's No Place Like Home: Where next for climate refugees? report considers how the negative impacts of climate change are impacting on human rights and driving millions of people from their homes and land each year. It puts the call to governments and political leaders to secure a new agreement on climate refugees, guaranteeing them effective enjoyment of their human rights and a fair claim to our shared world.

The report provides case studies from West Africa, Southeast Asia, the Indian and Pacific Oceans, all regions with high incidences of illegal fishing. Human rights abuses directly documented by EJF and other organisations, including the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), include physical and emotional abuse, incarceration, forced labour without pay, abandonment, and reports of murder.

'Illegal Driftnetting in the Mediterranean' documents how driftnets, although banned by both the EU and the ICCAT since 2002 and 2003, continue to be used illegally across the region to catch valuable large species, mainly swordfish and tuna. There are estimated to be up to 600 illegal driftnet vessels operating in the Mediterranean, including many EU-flagged vessels. EJF is calling on the European Union, and all States involved, to meet their legal responsibilities with firm and decisive action.