Menu
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 child labor in fish goods and tilapia sectors, forced labor in fish goods and tilapia sectors, and forced child labor in fish goods and tilapia sectors. |
|
U.S. Department of Labor 2023 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor |
Categorical worst form of child labor: evidence of forced child labor found in the fishing industry. Evidence of child labor found in fishing, including for tilapia; preparing bait, nets, and fishing gear; launching, paddling, and draining canoes; diving for fish; casting and pulling fishing nets and untangling them underwater; sorting, picking, cleaning, smoking, transporting, and selling fish; cleaning and repairing nets; and building and repairing boats. |
|
U.S. Department of State 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report |
Evidence of traffickers exploiting Ghanaian children in forced labor in inland and coastal fishing. Traffickers exploit children as young as four in forced labor in Lake Volta’s fishing industry and use violence and limited access to food to control victims. Traffickers force boys to work in hazardous conditions, including in deep diving, and girls perform work onshore, such as preparing the fish for markets. Women and girls working in the fishing sector are vulnerable to sexual abuse and exploitation, including sex trafficking. Observers allege PRC national-owned and -operated industrial vessels flagged to Ghana, often through shell companies, exploit Ghanaian workers in forced labor; one organization documented cases of abuse, including physical abuse, underpayment or nonpayment of wages, restricted medical care, and poor living conditions, against Ghanaian men aboard these fleets. An NGO estimated 90 percent of industrial fishing vessels operating in Ghana are owned by PRC-based companies. Traffickers operating fishing vessels flagged to Ireland and the United Kingdom also exploit Ghanaian workers in forced labor, allegedly in cooperation with some Ghanaian recruitment agencies. PRC nationals working in Ghana may be in forced labor in the formal and informal mining sectors and in fishing. |
|
Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Seafood Social Risk Tool Profile |
Evidence identified at the seafood-industry level in the Ghana country risk profile. |
| Additional civil society organization reports documenting human rights abuses: |
|---|
|
2022, Environmental Justice Foundation, On the Precipice: Crime and corruption in Ghana's Chinese-owned trawler fleet 2021, Environmental Justice Foundation, Powerless Bystanders: Ghana’s fisheries observers struggle to curb crimes and ensure their own safety at sea 2020, Environmental Justice Foundation, Fear, Hunger, and Violence: Human rights in Ghana’s industrial trawl fleet 2019, Environmental Justice Foundation, Blood and Water |
| 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) | Yes (yellow) | 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.
|
© 2024, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRIVACY POLICY