EVIDENCE | Forced labor, child labor, and/or human trafficking in seafood
| Source | Details |
|---|---|
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U.S. Department of Labor 2024 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor |
Evidence of forced labor in shrimp and fishing sectors. |
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U.S. Department of Labor 2024 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor |
Categorial worst forms of child labor: evidence of forced child labor found in the fishing sector. Evidence of child labor found in fishing industry. |
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U.S. Department of State 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report |
Traffickers subject Burmese men and boys transiting Thailand en route to Indonesia and Malaysia to forced labor, primarily in fishing and other labor-intensive industries. Recruitment agencies in Burma and other Southeast Asian countries lure fishermen with promises of high wages and then charge fees, assign them fake identities and labor permit documents, and send them to fish long hours in remote waters. Senior crew aboard vessels in the Thai and Taiwanese fishing fleets subject some Burmese men to forced labor; they also subject some to physical abuse and force them to remain aboard vessels in international waters for years at a time without coming ashore. Informal brokers also lure Burmese men onto offshore fishing and shrimping rafts in Burmese waters, where traffickers subject them to forced labor for months at a time. Local traffickers also use deceptive tactics to recruit men and boys into forced labor in riparian fishing and other sectors. |
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Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Seafood Social Risk Tool Profile |
No country risk profile available |
| Additional civil society organization reports documenting human rights abuses: |
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| Risk Factor | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Flag of Convenience (International Transport Workers Federation) | Yes | 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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