Southeast Asia’s Tuna Canneries Urged to Eliminate Modern Slavery at Sea

Southeast Asia’s Tuna Canneries Urged to Eliminate Modern Slavery at Sea

Southeast Asia’s Tuna Canneries Urged to Eliminate Modern Slavery at Sea

Of the 20 tuna canneries—nine from Thailand, five from Indonesia and six from the Philippines—ranked, nearly half (nine) have not established measures for early detection and prevention of modern slavery at sea.

Only eight companies refuse to source tuna from vessels that collect deposits from crew members to guarantee they would serve out the length of their contracts. Only seven of them require a list of the migrant fishers on board a vessel.

And only four companies have whistle-blower and anonymous hotlines or email addresses for migrant fishers to file complaints.

“Companies must perform due diligence on human rights and sustainability beyond what is necessary in other sectors, especially as tuna fishing remains an exceptionally high-risk industry,” said Ephraim Batungbacal, regional oceans research coordinator at Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

Companies should create enabling conditions for fishers to form and lead their own labour unions, he said.

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