Labor Exploitation, Illegal Fishing Continue to Plague Asian Seas

A new report from the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) should be cause for alarm for many leaders in the Indo-Pacific. Entitled “Blood and Water: Human rights abuse in the global seafood industry,” the report provides the latest information on “cases of slavery, debt bondage, insufficient food and water, filthy living conditions, physical and sexual assault, and even murder” occurring on fishing vessels flying flags from 13 countries, both developing and developed, from Asia and South America to the European Union and United States. Such labor abuses are a result of dwindling fish stocks in overexploited oceans, forcing the industry to rely on cheap labor in order to turn profits. Out on the high seas, the potential for abuse and exploitation remains high. The result is a global nontraditional security crisis in the making.

Illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing and labor exploitation is rampant in the global fishing industry, particularly because of the difficulty of monitoring activities on the vast high seas. Asia appears to be at the epicenter of the global fisheries crisis. In the past I have written reports for The Diplomat on labor issues in Taiwan’s fishing fleets, Thailand’s efforts to halt poachers from neighboring countries in its waters, and the impounding of the Fuh Sheng No. 11 in Kaohsiung Port in southern Taiwan, following a global effort involving South Africa and Indonesia to track down the vessel for labor violations and unsafe conditions under the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) Work in Fishing Convention (C188) in 2018. These reports are a drop in the bucket, only snapshots of a greater problem.

“Our report highlights profoundly concerning truths about the fishing industry globally, highlighting how illegal and unscrupulous operators are running operations based on the abuse of workers and the illegal and unsustainable exploitation of marine fisheries,” EJF’s Executive Director Steve Trent said in a statement issued by EJF. The report highlights forgeries among the flag of convenience practice (registering a vessel in a country other than where it is owned and operated); in one example, nine Taiwanese tuna long-liners using forged papers claiming registration in Bolivia were impounded in Thailand in 2016. “Stateless vessels” are another thorn in the sides of regulators and watchdogs; such ships act with impunity on the high seas, and are only caught when needing repairs in port. Brokerage systems provide fishing vessels from more developed countries with indebted, indentured laborers from developing states, who are then forced into debt with garnished wages aboard ships with poor conditions and little opportunity to escape.

I asked Trent to elaborate on EJF’s work in Taiwan and provide an update on the island’s fisheries for The Diplomat.

“Since the Fuh Sheng [No.] 11 case, Taiwan has made positive steps forward in improving its regulations to make its fleet more transparent,” Trent said. “For instance, they have started the process of publishing information on licensed vessels and bringing their law in line with the critical [C188 convention].”

He indicated, however, that EJF monitors in Taiwan are continuing to find cases of IUU fishing and trafficking in the industry, and bring the cases to the government. “We hope they are thoroughly and urgently investigated and that vessel operators are sanctioned where appropriate,” Trent stated. The NGO urges Taiwanese authorities to implement measures for abused fishers to raise the alarm, and to better monitor the industry to make certain destructive IUU practices no longer occur in its fisheries.

In late 2015, tuna prices hit a low on both sides of the Pacific, forcing Taiwanese long-liners to either remain in port to avoid fuel expenses or remain farther out at sea — where abuses are more common — for longer periods.