Tuna fleet calls on EU to end human rights abuses on Chinese ships

Published 2024년 6월 21일

Tridge summary

The European Jackal (EJF) has uncovered severe human rights abuses and illegal fishing activities involving 138 vessels, including 47% of longliners, in the Indian Ocean, with finding that 73% of these vessels are authorized to export to the EU. The EJF's investigation exposed widespread abuse, such as forced labor, human trafficking, children's exploitation, and deadly conditions, with evidence of four deaths. The Spanish Tuna Fleet and OPAGAC are calling on the EU to enforce stricter import controls, particularly from Asian fleets like China, and to demand compliance with labor and human rights standards. The concern is that the EU's import of 18,695 tons of Chinese tuna fillets in 2023 under a zero-tariff quota underscores its complicity in these abuses, given the well-documented rights violations and the industry's reliance on government subsidies, highlighting the urgent need for the EU to reevaluate its approach to ensure it is not inadvertently supporting such practices.

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Original content

OPAGAC warns of the seriousness of the facts identified in this report - 73% of the vessels suspected of human rights violations and illegal fishing identified by the EJF are on the list of authorized exporters to the EU. The EJF found that 138 vessels licensed to fish in this region of the Indian Ocean were involved in 86 cases of such abuse. Of the 95 permitted longliners operating in the tuna fishery, 47% are of this type of business. Among the abuses documented, 100% of fishermen surveyed by EJF report abusive living and working conditions, with 96% and 55% saying they have faced excessive overtime and physical violence, respectively. The evidence also reveals four deaths on Chinese fishing vessels between 2017 and 2023, including the alleged suicide of a crew member who threw himself overboard. The Spanish Tuna Fleet believes that reports of such seriousness should force the European Executive following the June 9 elections to take a definitive position and take decisive ...

Source: Fishretail