A group of four fishermen from Indonesia, co-counseled by attorneys for NGO Greenpeace USA, have sued Bumble Bee Foods, claiming they experienced forced labor and human trafficking while working on fishing vessels supplying the company.
The four fishers filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), a law first passed in 2000 to combat forced labor and human trafficking. They allege they experienced both human trafficking and forced labor aboard tuna vessels that provided Bumble Bee Foods with tuna that was later sold in the U.S.
According to the complaint, the fishers allege they applied for jobs and were put to work on vessels that are part of a “trusted network” of fishing vessels that supply Bumble Bee with albacore tuna.
“These men were looking for good jobs so they could provide for their families and build a future. Instead, they allege, they were trapped – isolated at sea, beaten with metal hooks, not getting enough food, working around the clock – and facing financial penalties if they tried to leave,” Agnieszka Fryszman, a partner at law firm Cohen Milstein and the chair of its human rights practice, said in a release. “The complaint outlines how each of them asked to be released but were kept on board against their will – and in some cases didn’t take home a single penny for their labor.”
A spokesperson for Bumble Bee told SeafoodSource that the company became aware of the legal filing on 12 March and will not be commenting on any pending litigation.
According to a press release from Greenpeace USA, the suit is “believed to be the first of its kind against the seafood industry in the U.S.” It alleges Bumble Bee knew, or should have known, about the conditions and that it benefited from the poor labor conditions.
The suit also claims the fishers were subject to physical violence and abuse, including threats against members of the crews’ families.
One plaintiff in the lawsuit, an Indonesian citizen named Angga, said in the complaint that the fishers on board were fed so little they resorted to eating bait fish, and when he finally returned home, he learned his family had never received any of his pay for his months at sea.
The fishers also allege they did not receive any medical treatment when injured. One complainant named in the case, Akhmad, said at one time he was injured and then forced to continue working.
“I was ordered to keep working. I thought there was water filling my boot, but I realized it was my own blood. I could see the bone in my leg,” he said. “I was left to clean and bandage my leg myself, without sterile medical supplies, and I kept bleeding for two weeks. It still hurts and probably always will.”
The lawsuit requests the court order Bumble Bee to ...
