To meet import country requirements and facilitate market access, seafood traders comply with checks on work hours, crew living conditions, onboard food and water quality, and forced labor. Interviews are conducted with every crew member. Small-scale vessel owner Chen Wen-sheng explains that after Taiwanese fishing vessels dock, “most inspections are conducted by traders like FCF, Jong Shyn, or Starkist rather than the Fisheries Agency. Frankly, they’re stricter than the agency itself.” Interviews reveal that FCF’s social improvement framework aims to build long-term relationships with vessel owners, moving beyond transactional business dealings. Since 2016, FCF has worked with the Seafood Task Force to discuss industry standards, deploying trained teams for social responsibility audits in 2018 to assess social risks in fisheries rather than evaluate supply chains. However, due to manpower constraints, FCF began outsourcing audits to third-party organizations in 2021. Data collected between 2018 and 2021 identified common industry deficiencies, allowing FCF to assist vessel owners in bridging gaps and improving practices. These efforts led to initiatives such as the “Fisher’s Voice” complaint mechanism and responsible recruitment systems. FCF also established a Vessel Support and Governance team to help vessel owners implement improvements based on audit results, forming the core of their social improvement framework. Critics, however, argue that CSR often prioritizes consumer perspectives over labor welfare. Dr. Jessica Sparks of Tufts University noted that “Fisheries Improvement Projects (FIPs) are voluntary programs that help shipowners access retail markets, allowing their products to sell better or reach target markets, but they do not directly benefit workers. Some shipowners use FIPs to whitewash their reputations, yet labor conditions remain dire.” 98 FIPs primarily cater to consumer demands in Stella Maris Taiwan hosted the “Taiwan International Conference on Fisher’s Welfare” in the Taichung Diocese from May 14 to 16, 2024. Researcher Jessica Sparks gave a speech at the conference on May 15. 98 119