WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 6, 2024)–The U.S. Department of Labor’s latest “List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor,” released this week, once again shows that the majority of migrant workers on Taiwan’s distant water fishing vessels are experiencing indicators of forced labor. This is the third time that Taiwan’s distant water fishing industry has been included in the list, following the first listing in 2020. The consecutive listings are reflective of the prolonged and systemic issues in the Taiwanese distant water fishing industry.
Sari Heidenreich, Greenpeace USA’s senior human rights advisor, said: “We stand with fishers and their unions in calling for improvements to conditions aboard Taiwanese fishing vessels. As pointed out in the Department of Labor’s report, effective efforts to address these issues must include a focus on listening to and empowering workers and their unions. US companies have incredible economic power in the seafood industry but all too often they use that power to contribute to a race to the bottom, including by sourcing from problematic fisheries, such as the Taiwanese fleet.”
The report states that “workers face hunger and dehydration, live in degrading and unhygienic conditions, are subjected to physical violence and verbal abuse, are prevented from leaving the vessel or ending their contracts, and are frequently not paid their promised wages or have food and lodging fees illegally deducted from their wages.” It also notes that the majority of fishers have been deceived by recruitment organizations with false information about wages and contracts, and have been forced to pay recruitment fees, incur debt, face confiscation of their identity documents, and work in poor conditions for 18 to 22 hours a day.
The United States imports roughly 80% of its seafood, and is the world’s largest market for canned tuna. Bumble Bee – one of the main US canned tuna companies – is owned by Taiwanese tuna trader FCF and has been linked to Taiwanese fish caught with forced labor.
Heidenreich continued: “The report underscores a troubling reality: American consumers are still at significant risk of consuming seafood tainted by modern slavery. With fish from Taiwan remaining on the Department of Labor’s List of Goods Produced with Child Labor or Forced Labor, it is essential for companies importing seafood from Taiwan to scrutinize their supply chains much more rigorously. By quickly and decisively addressing these issues, companies can show both strong business sense and moral leadership, ensuring they protect both workers and consumers by eliminating human rights abuses from their supply chains.”
US retailers, given their economic power at the top of the seafood supply chain, play a key role in determining the human rights outcomes of tens of thousands of workers, who often toil under slave-like and inhumane conditions. In late August, Greenpeace USA released a scorecard assessing US supermarkets on the human and environmental protections in their tuna supply chains. Of the 16 retailers surveyed, only one received a passing human rights score. In analyzing and scoring retailer policies, the report continues to emphasize that retailers need to take responsibility for the products they are profiting from rather than relying on third party certifications such as the MSC. The MSC was in the news once again this week after an article was published in Nature: Ocean Sustainability that called out MSC for its failure to detect labor violations in its certified fisheries.
Upon the release of the Department of Labor’s List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor, the Human Rights for Migrant Fishers advocacy coalition in Taiwan, of which Greenpeace East Asia is a member, released a statement that highlights the forced labor conditions aboard Taiwanese fishing vessels and condemns the Taiwanese government for failing to protect workers.
Allison Lee, Secretary-general of the Yilan Migrant Fishers Union, said: “Since 2020, when fish from Taiwan was first included in this list, all the actions taken by the Taiwanese Fisheries Agency have been for getting off the list instead of eliminating forced labor. The government’s passive attitude towards combating human trafficking and ending modern-day slavery and focus on maximizing the profits of the fishing industry, and its disregard for the dignity of the fisher’s labor and basic human rights, deserves to be condemned by international society and should be severely sanctioned.”
Yi-hsiang Shih, Senior Researcher at the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, said: “Taiwan’s inclusion in the U.S. forced labor list for the third time highlights the systemic and institutional nature of forced labor in Taiwan’s distant-water fishing industry. Our biggest concern is that the Taiwanese government and industry will continue to remain indifferent and self-satisfied. Civil society, fishermen’s unions, and many international organizations that genuinely care about labor rights for Taiwan’s fishermen are all very willing to collaborate with the government and industry to develop solutions based on and centered around fishermen, in order to eliminate forced labor in the distant-water fishing industry.”
Lennon Wong, Director of the Migrant Workers Policy Division of the Taoyuan Serve the People Association, said: “The U.S. Department of Labor has once again listed Taiwan’s fish products in its List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor, marking the third consecutive time, which means six continuous years. This indicates that the U.S. government believes that there are serious risks of forced labor in Taiwan’s fishing industry, and there has been no significant improvement over the past six years. The U.S. government’s stance is completely aligned with that of various Taiwanese labor rights, human rights, and environmental groups, including the Migrant Fishermen Union.”
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Contact: Lindsay Bigda, Communications Director, Greenpeace USA, [email protected], +1 (207) 385-7924
Greenpeace USA is part of a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people first. Learn more at www.greenpeace.org/usa.
