Representatives of marine businesses and non-governmental organizations gathered Sunday, 31 January at the SeaWeb Seafood Summit pre-conference to discuss their recent work on eliminating slavery and worker rights violations in the seafood industry.
Greater awareness of human rights issues in the seafood industry emerged following a 2014 investigative article in the Guardian (UK) that reported human trafficking and enslavement onboard Thai fishing vessels, and a 2015 series by the Associated Press that revealed abusive labor practices in the fishing industry in Southeast Asia. "The Outlaw Ocean," a New York Times series that focused on crime and violence in international waters, brought further attention to social problems involving fishing workers.
Kevin Hyland, the United Kingdom’s Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, said the demand for cheaper food had contributed to the problem, and said businesses had to lead a push to insist slavery had no part in their supply chains.
“Business has a tremendous amount of power…to dictate labor regulation and choose who it gives contracts to,” Hyland said.
Hyland praised the formation of Project Issara, a public-private partnership founded in early 2014 to improve practices around labor recruitment and working conditions. The project recently become permanent and is now known as the Issara Institute. In the first six months of 2015, the institute oversaw more than 500 inspections of Thai fishing vessels and discovered legal violations on more than one-fifth of inspected boats.
Mike Mitchell, a member of the operating board of Young’s Seafood, said in response to the Guardian article that, “it radicalized me on this [slavery] issue and made me realized no matter how much we thought we were doing, we weren’t doing enough.”
He added, “It is no longer a feasible alternative for business to turn a blind eye … and sweep transgressions under the carpet.”
Commodore David Dickens, chief executive of the Fishermen’s Mission, said violations will continue until more resources are put into monitoring vessels while they’re at sea.
“Right now, there doesn’t seem to be enough resources on the ground to make skippers feel as if they’re being watched,” Dickens said.
Andy Hall, international affairs advisor to the Migrant Workers Rights Network, criticized efforts that had pushed for change in labor practices at fishing companies in Southeast Asia, arguing there had been little follow-up with employees who had lost their jobs as a result.
“None of the companies which pushed for changes are monitoring the thousands of workers laid off as a result of the new policies,” he said.
Hall urged seafood companies to push for a better understanding of worker conditions in their supply chain and for a larger worker voice in decisions made moving forward.
From the perspective of business, Mitchell called the issue of slavery and human rights violations “one of the most complex challenges we have faced as an industry.” He said that after much reflection, his company had decided to work together with NGOs and other willing participants to try and improve the practices of industry.
“We know for a fact that working together works,” he said. “That’s the importance of this [SeaWeb] conference and is exactly why we’re here.”
