Advocacy groups and a Catholic activist have welcomed the United States’ move to block a fishing vessel over allegations of forced labor, a practice that is still prevalent among migrant fishers in Southeast Asia.
The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency blocked the offloading of tuna and other seafood from Fiji-flagged fishing vessel Hangton No. 112 over suspicion of having victims of forced labor on board.
According to a statement on Aug. 4, the CBP identified at least three of the International Labour Organization’s 11 indicators of forced labor during its investigation: withholding of wages, debt bondage and retention of identity documents.
The vessel had been previously investigated by Greenpeace Southeast Asia and the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union (SBMI) in their “Seabound: The Journey to Modern Slavery on the High Seas” report published in 2019.
“This action demonstrates the need for significant government action to get forced labor out of the fishing industry,” said J. Park, senior ocean campaigner from Greenpeace US.
However, despite hailing this as an important step, he said the problem is much bigger than one vessel.
Allowing rampant human rights abuses to continue means the potential loss of more vulnerable migrant fishers
“Fishing vessel owners, tuna traders, retailers and governments all need to get serious about human rights and environmental standards to ensure people and the planet are protected,” he said in a statement on Aug. 6.
Hariyanto Suwarno, SBMI chairman, said: “To ensure the rights and lives of fishing crews are protected, we need flag states to uphold international standards and perform proper oversight and safety of their ships so decent work at sea can be achieved.
“With a lack of traceability and transparency in the seafood industry, consumers could unknowingly be buying and consuming seafood sourced from vessels potentially involved in illegal fishing and forced labor practices.”
They will continue to expose and address forced labor practices at sea and bring vessel owners and seafood companies to account.
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“Allowing rampant human rights abuses to continue means the potential loss of more vulnerable migrant fishers — none of whom signed up to have their life abused and taken in such a way,” Suwarno said.
Scalabrinian Father Ansensius Guntur, director of the Stella Maris Center in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, a church-run organization that provides care for migrants, seafarers and refugees, said this is a breath of fresh air for advocacy of migrant fishers to be treated humanely.
“The US agency’s decision at least gives a message that fishing vessels should not continue the old pattern of forced labor practices,” he said. “Hopefully this can encourage them to improve themselves.”
The report noted four main complaints — deception, withholding of wages, excessive overtime and physical and sexual abuse
Countries in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, are the biggest contributors to migrant fishers who work for vessels, mostly owned by Taiwan and China.
As of July 2020, 22,244 migrant workers from Indonesia were estimated to be on Taiwanese boats, making them part of a US$2 billion industry and one of the top five distant water fishing fleets on the high seas.
In a report titled “Forced Labor at Sea: The Case of Indonesian Migrant Fishers” released in May by Greenpeace Southeast Asia and the SBMI, there were 62 reported cases of forced labor between May 2019 and June 2020, a sharp rise on the 34 reported between December 2018 and July 2019.
The report noted four main complaints — deception, withholding of wages, excessive overtime and physical and sexual abuse.
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