2. Thailand’s fishing industry, particularly for small pelagics, has been rife with human trafficking for years, but this summer the issue attracted mainstream media attention when the Guardian newspaper published the results of its investigation into allegations that CP Foods, one of Thailand’s largest shrimp producers, was using fishmeal coming from slave labor.
The article drove French retailer Carrefour to suspend purchasing from CP, and CP itself announced it was dropping a large number of its fishmeal suppliers in the wake of the article’s publication.
The issue was pressed even further into the public eye in June when the U.S. State Department issued its annual Trafficking in Persons report, where the department downgraded Thailand to Tier 3, the lowest grade possible. The designation opened up the possibility for the Obama administration to administer sanctions. A 90-day window came and went with no action, but the very public events gave the Thai fishing industry, and indirectly the shrimp farming industry there that depends on it, a black eye.
Steve Trent, Executive Director of the activist group Environmental Justice Foundation, has spearheaded an awareness campaign that began back in 2013, but he has said publicly that he does not advocate for sanctions, boycotts, or any other “blunt” instrument that punishes fishermen who are doing the right thing. His group has produced at least one follow-up report since 2013, so it’s a good bet groups such as his will keep watching the situation.
