Kyokuyo

No leading practices were found for the company in the governance and strategy measurement area.

No leading practices were found for the company in the ecosystems measurement area.

Commitment to traceable seafood
As member of SeaBOS, Kyokuyo has made a commitment to the GDST. With this commitment, the company supports implementing robust traceability systems in the seafood industry.

No leading practices were found for the company in the social responsibility measurement area.

Sustainable development strategy
Kyokuyo has sustainable development objectives that cover sustainability topics in the seafood industry, and it discloses targets that address greenhouse gas emissions, food waste and water use. The company, however, can improve its sustainability reporting by show how it identifies and prioritises the most relevant sustainability topics.

Governance and accountability
The company has an environmental conservation committee that is responsible for overseeing its environmental activities. However, Kyokuyo does not demonstrate that oversight for its sustainability strategy lies with its highest governance body. Also, no information on whether sustainability is an element of its remuneration policy is disclosed.

Engagement in policy advocacy
As a member of SeaBOS, Kyokuyo takes part in collective advocacy activities through statements and calls to action towards governments. Examples of such activities are calls for governments to support boat crews and ocean workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Statement on Traceability and Port State Measures to combat IUU fishing. Aside from these statements, no further information was found about specific advocacy activities the company undertakes, individually and/or collectively, to improve public policies and strengthen legislation, nor was any reporting on results or impacts of policy advocacy activities.

Commitment to sustainable fisheries and aquaculture
Kyokuyo has Chain of Custody certification for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), which allows the company to handle certified seafood products. Kyokuyo can strengthen its commitment to sustainable fisheries and aquaculture by setting time-bound targets for its own fisheries and aquaculture operations and developing sourcing criteria that refer to credible standards and ratings. Once in place, the company could report how it performs against those targets and whether it is making positive progress.

Ecosystem impacts of fisheries
As member of SeaBOS, Kyokuyo is committed to tackling abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear, also known as ghost gear, by joining the Global Ghost Gear Initiative. However, the company lacks public disclosure about its activities to manage fishing impacts on target and by-catch species. Also, it does not provide information about its impacts on endangered species and sensitive habitats. As such, Kyokuyo can significantly improve by showing how it assesses the ecosystem impacts of its wild-catch operations and how it mitigates any negative impacts.

Ecosystem impacts of aquaculture
Kyokuyo does not provide information about how it promotes sustainable aquaculture practices in its operations and supply chains. The company can improve its performance by showing how it addresses important issues in aquaculture, such as antibiotic use, aquaculture feed use, animal welfare, and impacts on endangered species and sensitive habitats. Furthermore, Kyokuyo could release information about outbreaks, medicine use, and disease management plans in its aquaculture operations.

Traceability system for seafood products and aquaculture feed ingredients
While Kyokuyo has publicly committed to the GDST, it does not make information available about how it traces and verifies the origins of seafood products. Robust traceability systems contribute to reducing social and environmental risks in a company’s operations and supply chains, and Kyokuyo can improve in this area. To do so, it would have to present its traceability system, including key data elements that are collected and the mechanisms used to verify the information along the supply chain.

Risk-based approach to IUU fishing
To reduce IUU fishing risks, Kyokuyo has made it a priority to source seafood products that are MSC or ASC certified. However, the company fails to disclose how it conducts IUU fishing risk assessments as well as due diligence processes to identify and mitigate these risks across its operations and supply chain.

Disclosure of the origin of its seafood and marine feed ingredients
Kyokuyo does not publicly disclose information about the source of its seafood products. By being transparent about this, the company could demonstrate responsibility and accountability for its operations and supply chain. It can improve its performance by providing an overview of its fishing and aquaculture operations and the seafood products it sources, including information about species, production method, location, and management status.

Child and forced labour
In its supplier guidelines, Kyokuyo states that it prohibits the use of child labour. However, the company does not have a similar commitment for its own operations, nor does it provide evidence of eliminating and preventing child labour from its own operations and supply chains. Regarding forced labour, the company prohibits forced labour in its supply chain but also does not provide evidence of what it does to protect its own workers from forced labour risks.

Working and living conditions on board fishing vessels
Although Kyokuyo has a Basic Procurement Policy in place, as well as guidelines for its suppliers, the company does not prove how it verifies decent working and living conditions on board fishing vessels within in its own operations and supply chains. Kyokuyo can improve its performance by monitoring working and living conditions on vessels, disclosing these results, and demonstrating how risks are mitigated and improvements implemented, where needed.

Respecting customary and indigenous rights and support for local communities
Kyokuyo is committed to respecting customary rights and shares examples about how it supports local communities. The company can improve its reporting by disclosing a systematic process for engaging with local communities in its own operations and supply chains and also tracking progress of the results and impacts of its engagement with these communities.

Kyokuyo commits to respecting human rights but does not refer to a policy statement that also expects its suppliers to do so regarding the International Labour Organization’s core labour rights. The company lacks disclosure on how it identifies, assesses and takes action to address human rights risks in its operations and supply chains. Its grievance mechanism does not indicate if the mechanism is anonymous and whether external individuals and communities can report incidents.

Kyokuyo publicly commits to respecting the health and safety of workers in its own operations and its supply chains. However, the company does not commit to providing a living wage, fair working hours, gender equality and empowerment, or collective bargaining for workers in its own operations nor in its supply chains.  

No relevant policies or commitments on other key ethical business topics – personal data protection, tax, bribery and corruption, and lobbying and political engagement – were found in the public domain.