The global shrimp trade moves hundreds of thousands of tonnes of shrimp annually between producing and consuming countries. Welfare and labor standards in this supply chain are poorly documented and inconsistently enforced.
Shrimp supply chain welfare intersects with labor rights in ways that make it an unusually complex advocacy topic. The same supply chain vulnerabilities that enable labor exploitation in shrimp peeling sheds also enable welfare-compromising production practices to go undocumented. Cold chain management, live transport conditions, and processing practices all have welfare implications for the shrimp themselves, while labor conditions throughout the supply chain raise human rights concerns that provide additional leverage for supply chain reform advocates. The welfare and labor rights communities are sometimes siloed, but their interests in supply chain transparency and accountability are aligned. Advocacy that addresses both dimensions simultaneously may be more effective than either alone.