Chicken of the sea or Bumble Bee.. definitely not the tuna for me...

            

Image Greenpeace
Greenpeace research found that a Bumble Bee tuna can purchased on April 12, 2022, was sourced on one of the six vessels confirmed to have indicators of forced labor. 


    Hey Everyone!! Thanks for staying tuned as we explore human rights violations within the fishing industry which is rife with human rights atrocities, violations, lack of government accountability, and corporations exploiting workers while making an exorbitant amount of wealth. I am sure everyone reading this has a can of tuna in their pantry; maybe it's a staple in your household or in the depth of a cabinet collecting dust. Canned tuna, I know for me growing up, was a staple. Thanks, Mom. I can go the rest of my life without tuna casserole. The seafood sector is an industry that is globally recognized as high-risk regarding human rights violations such as human trafficking, horrific working conditions, and forced labor. 

                                                                    

Thai Union products


Thai Union is, you guessed it, based in Thailand. The world's leading producer of seafood-based products ranging from household names such as Chicken of the Sea and brands RedLobster. With more than 40 years of industry experience, Thai Union is one of the leading, publicly traded global seafood producers and suppliers. Thai Union is valued at over $4 billion. I do not want to be disingenuous with this post; Thai Union is the ONLY company I can find with a total commitment to prohibit forced labor with a due diligence mechanism put in place (Worldbenchalliance, 2021). This certainly has not always been the case, but they seem to be turning a new corner regarding human rights and trying to be a vanguard in the industry. Good for them, seriously. Let's get real, they have been accused of human rights violations, said they have changed, then guess what, another slew of human rights violations. So it's hard to take THEIR word when it means nothing. Their profit incentives trump human rights abuses, so they will have press releases stating they have changed and moved on. Well, the Thai Union, historically, has not been transparent. I will continue to tread water, and hopefully, we will find something more recent and worthy on Thai Union.  



                                                             Bumble Bee Seafood Products

Bumble Bee Seafood has a parent company Fong Chun Formosa Fishing Company of Taiwan. Fong Chun Formosa (FSF) Fishing Company is the world's leading tuna trader with annual revenue of $45 billion per year with over 500 vessels. Greenpeace came out with a very damning report exposing FCF to gross human rights violations. First, FCF has touted and shouted from the rooftops of sustainability and traceability but failed to mention identifying forced labor and human trafficking aboard six vessels that supplied Bumble Bee and FCF. The nine workers who were willing to speak of their experiences on these six vessels reported excessive overtime, holding of wages, and retention of documents which is often done by captains of vessels to prevent fishers from leaving horrific conditions or terminating contracts early (Monaghan, 2020). 


                                        AP PHOTO/ Johnson Lai. Story reported by Ben Fox at AP

"We are not surprised at the high disparity between what Bumble Bee tells US consumers and what was uncovered in this investigation. Bumble Bee claims to be for people and the planet, but we see in this report that a company is skirting its responsibilities to make a profit. The US is one of the world's largest seafood importers and can wield significant influence in bringing forced labor at sea to an end. Greenpeace organizations have documented human rights abuses in FCF's supply chain. Knowing there is a high chance of seafood tainted with such abuse entering the US market, we call on the US Customs and Borders protection to block the importation of FCF's tainted products. In addition, the Biden Administration must end the era of US seafood companies and retailers profiting from seafood caught with forced labor"- Mailika Talwar, Senior Oceans Campaigner at Greenpeace US (Monaghan, 2020). 




Works Cited:

Fox, Ben. (2020). US halts imports linked to Taiwan-based fishing vessel. Associated Press. USA. August 20, 2020. https://apnews.com/article/global-trade-politics-international-news-asia-pacific-0cb7aa0b2980d741ecc72e755e0ea852

Monaghan, E. 2020. Who is the FCF? Taiwans biggest tuna trader linked to forced labor and illegal fishing. Greenpeace organization. March 19, 2020. https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/29409/who-is-fcf-taiwans-biggest-tuna-trader-linked-to-forced-labour-illegal-fishing/

World Bench Alliance. 2021. Seafood companies fall short on addressing human and labour rights. Seafood stewardship index. https://www.worldbenchmarkingalliance.org/publication/seafood-stewardship-index/findings/seafood-companies-fall-short-on-addressing-human-and-labour-rights/


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