Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited all five companies to:

1. Respond to the report’s findings and workers’ allegations of abusive working conditions;
2. Disclose the steps it has taken to investigate and remedy workers for the abuse reported; and,
3. Disclose any human rights due diligence it undertakes prior to entering into contracts with suppliers and when monitoring working conditions at suppliers.

Whitby provided the following response:

Whitby are part of a multi-stakeholder response which is being co-ordinated through the SEA Alliance (of which Whitby Seafoods is a member) and which is moving at pace to ensure the matter is investigated rigorously by an independent expert. More details can be seen here https://seaa.org/positionstatements/sea-alliance-statement-recent-serious-allegations-featured-in-the-financial-times-magazine-and-wider-concerns-relating-to-worker-welfare-in-the-uk-fishing-sector/