An investigation by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) has revealed that Chinese distant-water fishing vessels are engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) in the southwest Indian Ocean, and are guilty of human rights violations such as exploitation of crew members. The report, which is the first to review the Southwest Indian Ocean off the coast of East Africa, accuses China of being the world's leader in IUU fishing, with 36% of fishing activities in the Southwest Indian Ocean potentially illegal between 2016 and 2021. The report also documents poor working and living conditions, overtime, and physical violence against crew members on Chinese fishing vessels.