EJF investigation links forced labor in Thailand to overfishing

Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) on Tuesday released the findings another investigation into Thailand’s embattled fishing industry, stating the impacts of forced labor and ongoing human rights abuses lead to serious environmental degradation. It’s the group’s fourth in-depth look at slavery or abusive and violent working conditions in fishing and seafood processing in Southeast Asia.

The organization’s new report and film, “Pirates and Slaves,” explores how international demand for cheap seafood is fueling human trafficking and what it says is the “collapse of entire marine ecosystems.”

“Producers and consumers of Thai seafood are embroiled in one of the most outrageous social and ecological crimes of the 21st Century. Ecosystem decline and slavery exist in a vicious cycle. People are trafficked as a result of environmental crises, and forced to endure terrible human rights abuses while working in industries which also harm the environment,” said Steve Trent, executive director of EJF.   

EJF contends that Thai fishing vessels today catch only 14 percent of what they caught in the mid-1960s as a result of rampant overfishing. As a result, boats have to go further out to sea and stay out for longer periods of time. This has led to the numerous reports of forced labor in recent months, reported by both EJF and more recently the Associated Press.

“Unrestricted industrial exploitation damages ecosystems and exposes vulnerable populations to trafficking and abuse. Overfishing exacerbates pirate fishing, which further drives slavery and environmental degradation. It is vital to address overfishing, pirate fishing and slavery in Thailand as one fundamentally interconnected problem,” added Trent. “The starting point must be an honest appraisal of the scale and extent of the social and environmental problems facing the Thai seafood industry. All stakeholders must work together to ensure the protection of the oceans and marine life, and eradication of slavery at sea.”

EJF cited several sources that have polled Thai fishing workers, and reported that many had witnessed executions at sea, physical and sexual violence, isolation and forced drug use.

This is the fourth report EJF has released following a series of investigations on abuses of migrant workers in the Thai seafood sector. Our previous reports include The Hidden Cost, Sold to the Sea and Slavery at Sea. Pirates and Slaves links human rights issues to the environmental degradation.

The London-based group is campaigning for greater transparency and traceability throughout the Thai seafood industry.

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