As more and more people grow concerned about slave labor in the seafood industry, a new film Ghost Fleet (in theaters June 7) sheds light on the injustices perpetrated against trafficked workers in the Thai fishing industry. Thailand is one of the largest seafood exporters in the world, but fishing fleets in the country are severely short on workers. Many human traffickers have taken advantage of this situation. Traffickers have lured men from villages across Southeast Asia with the promise of lucrative jobs and have then sold them to fleet captains for hundreds of dollars. The men are taken out boats and held captive on fishing trips that often last years, all the while suffering human rights abuses.

The film follows Patima Tungpuchayakul (a 2018 Seafood Champion award winner for Advocacy) who has committed her life's work to helping these men who are subjected to modern day slavery on Thai fishing boats. Ghost Fleet shows the great lengths Patima and her team go to help the men return to their homes. Faced with corruption and death threats, the group of activists have still managed to rescue 3,000 trafficked men who have been left stranded on islands in Indonesia by the Thai fishing industry. The film brings to light the stories of this group of vulnerable and mistreated works and at the same time showcases the work activists are doing to free them.

You can watch the trailer for Ghost Fleet here or get information about upcoming screenings in select theaters here. You can also learn more on how to take action against slavery in the seafood industry by visiting the film's Act Now campaign page.

Due to natural variability, there will be major quality differences in wild salmon, no matter how well the fish is handled. Learning about specific runs of salmon, more so than specific species, is often the best way to find consistency in wild salmon that fits specific needs. White Chinook salmon get their lighter flesh color because its food source consists of sardines or anchovies compared to pinkier flesh from salmon that consume mostly krill. There can be considerable price variation with higher oil content fish getting a higher price in the market. Because Chinook have such a high oil content, they are often smoked. Chinook is graded under 7, 7-11, 11-18, and 18 up. Fresh and frozen is mostly available headed and gutted.

Key sustainability sourcing notes for Chinook salmon based on combining landings data from 2016-2017 and the most recent Seafood Watch assessments and MSC certifications as of May, 2019:

• ~25% of global Chinook salmon landings are MSC-certified (from Alaska)
• ~55% of global Chinook salmon landings meet a Seafood Watch "Good Alternative (yellow)" rating (~45% from Washington, ~35% from British Columbia, ~15% from Oregon, and ~5% from California)
• ~10% of global Chinook salmon landings meet a Seafood Watch "Avoid (red)" rating (~95% from Puget Sound, Washington and ~5% from South Coast, British Columbia)
• ~10% of global Chinook salmon landings are unrated (~90% from Russian and ~10% from Japan)
• Global landings of Chinook salmon have decreased ~30% in 2017 compared to 2016 and ~55% compared to 2014