Taiwan Fishing Fleet Catch Added to US Forced Labor List

On Wednesday the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) included Taiwan-caught fish on its latest release of the “List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor” in a move which may force the industry and the Taiwanese government to take action to curb the well-documented abuses which are rife on the Taiwanese fishing fleet—which is the world’s second largest.

The listing states “There are reports that adults are forced to work in the production of fish on Taiwan’s distant-water fishing fleet” adding that “an estimated 35,000 migrant workers are employed by the fleet. The majority of these workers are recruited overseas, mostly from Indonesia and the Philippines, by agencies that sometimes deceive workers with false information regarding their wages and the terms of the contracts, and require the workers to pay recruitment fees and sign debt contracts.”

The concise but damning listing further states, “According to various sources, numerous incidents of forced labor have been reported on Taiwan-flagged fishing vessels. While on board the vessels, workers’ identity documents are often confiscated, and the crew spends months at sea without stopping at a port of call, and they are forced to work 18 to 22 hours a day with little rest. 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.”

The move was welcomed by Greenpeace, which has run numerous in-depth investigative reports on human rights abuses on Taiwan-flagged or owned vessels. In a press release Andy Shen, Senior Oceans Adviser at Greenpeace USA, said “The Department of Labor’s decision to put Taiwan-caught fish on its List of Goods Produced by Forced Labor confirms what we have known for many years—the Taiwanese fishing industry is built on the backs of exploited migrant fishers.”

Allegations of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing by Taiwan’s fishing fleet and poor regulatory control have long dogged Taiwan. The European Commission previously issued a ‘yellow card’ to Taiwan in 2015 “based on serious shortcomings in the fisheries legal framework, a system of sanctions that does not deter IUU fishing, and lack of effective monitoring, control and surveillance of the long-distance fleet.”

The warning was lifted in 2019 following reforms to Taiwan’s fishing regulations.

“The yellow card from the EU in 2015 prompted Taiwan to make changes to its fisheries regulation,” said Pearl Chen (陳珮瑜), Ocean Campaigner from Greenpeace East Asia in the press release. “However, despite the strong and widely recognized relationship between illegal fishing and forced labor, Taiwan had largely overlooked the rights of migrant fishers as it reformed its fisheries policies. Migrant fishers are still discriminated against by the two-tiered recruitment system and remain at risk of abuse and forced labor on board Taiwanese fishing vessels.”

Migrant fishers employed on distant-water fishing vessels are not covered under Taiwan’s Labor Standards Act. However the regulations mandate that they must be paid a minimum wage of US$450 a month. Yet deductions to wages often result in lower pay. An Environmental Justice Foundation survey of 71 migrant fishers over 62 vessels released in June this year showed that 92% complained that wages had not been properly paid.

Shen also called on American retailers to pay heed to the decision to list Taiwan-caught fish by the DOL. “American retailers such as Walmart and Costco, and national tuna brands such as Bumble Bee, source from the Taiwanese fleet and must assure consumers they are not profiting from and perpetuating modern slavery on the high seas.”

The move by the DOL comes eight months after the purchase of Bumble Bee—a popular U.S. tuna brand—by Taiwan’s largest tuna trader, Fong Chun Formosa (FCF) in February of this year. Greenpeace has previously raised concerns about links between the company and forced labor upon the ships that supply it. FCF claims that their fish is responsibly and sustainably sourced, according to their website and statements issued in response to Greenpeace reports at the time.

Greenpeace called on the Taiwanese government to “immediately adopt the transformative social and environmental reforms needed to significantly reduce forced labor on its fishing vessels, or face economic repercussions from preference for seafood produced legally, ethically, and sustainably.”

Lennon Wong (汪英達) of Taoyuan-based Serve the People Association (SPA) also welcomed the move by the DOL and called on the Taiwanese government to act swiftly.

“We always request that the government address the serious multiple violation of the laws, and violations of human rights and labor rights of migrant fishermen, for both coastal and distant-water fishing,” said Wong in comments to Ketagalan Media on Thursday. “The government has done very little, and one reason is the strong voices from the business side.”

Wong suggested that the DOL listing might have more impact than the European Commission’s yellow card.

“I really hope the government, and the businesses can open their mind and work together with the NGOs and migrant workers themselves to eliminate all the violations and terminate modern slavery and human trafficking in fishing industry in Taiwan,” added Wong, “So the fishing employers don’t need to be terrified by another sanction, warning or detention from foreign governments. If they really want to save Taiwan’s fishing industry, this might be crucial.”

As the listing was released as Taiwan started a four-day national holiday to mark the Mid-Autumn Festival it was not possible to contact the relevant Taiwan agencies for their response to the listing by the DOL.

(Feature photo by 渡邉 一矢 from Pixabay, CC0)