EVIDENCE | Forced labor, child labor, and/or human trafficking in seafood
| Source | Details |
|---|---|
|
U.S. Department of Labor 2024 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor |
Evidence of forced labor in squid sector and fish goods. |
|
U.S. Department of Labor 2024 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor |
Not profiled in report |
|
U.S. Department of State 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report |
Evidence of trafficking in the fishing sector, including forced labor aboard fishing vessels operating worldwide in the PRC’s distant water fleet (DWF). There is evidence of multiple indicators of forced labor, including excessive working hours, degrading living conditions, severe verbal and physical abuse, and sexual abuse, often while being forced to remain at sea for months or years at a time. Many DWF crewmembers are recruited through unlicensed or poorly regulated informal brokerage networks within the PRC and abroad, exacerbating their risk of indebtedness through the imposition of unregulated hiring fees, commissions, and expenses accrued while being forced to reside in dormitories in the months leading up to their deployment. PRC fishing operators in turn require DWF crewmembers to pay “guarantee money” that places them at further risk of debt-based coercion. Some DWF senior vessel crew members also subject these fishermen to forced criminality in IUU fishing and smuggling – including in areas under the jurisdiction of other coastal states – making them vulnerable to unjust civil and criminal liabilities in port countries. |
|
Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Seafood Social Risk Tool Profile |
Evidence of human trafficking and forced labor in the fishing industry and in seafood processing. There are risk profiles available for farming of Warmwater Shrimp in China and Chinese Squid fishing and processing. |
| Additional civil society organization reports documenting human rights abuses: |
|---|
| Risk Factor | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Flag of Convenience (International Transport Workers Federation) | No | Flags of Convenience are connected to the occurrence of human trafficking and forced labor in fishing. Vessels registered to Flag of Convenience states may lack a legitimate connection to the flag state and may be subject to less rigorous management and oversight by the flag state. |
| Active yellow or red card for failing to tackle illegal fishing (European Union) | No | The European Union gives countries yellow and red cards for failing in their requirements under international law to take action against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. There is evidence linking IUU fishing to an increased risk of human trafficking and forced labor on board fishing vessels. |
| Failure to ratify key treaties and international labor conventions |
Ratifying key treaties and international labor conventions indicates a country’s commitment to uphold international standards.
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