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This Week in AsiaPolitics

Indonesian fishermen sue US food giant Bumble Bee Seafoods in landmark forced labour case

The human-trafficking case highlights the exploitation within the seafood industry, emphasising the need for corporate accountability and systemic reform

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Workers load flash-frozen fish onto a truck from a boat near Indonesia’s Bali island. Indonesian fishermen have sued Bumble Bee Seafoods for forced labour, alleging abuse and withheld wages on Chinese-owned vessels in its supply chain. Photo: AFP
Resty Woro Yuniar
A landmark human-trafficking lawsuit filed by four Indonesian fishermen against US canned seafood giant Bumble Bee Seafoods could pave the way for more victims of forced labour at sea to seek compensation, rights groups have said.

In the lawsuit, filed on March 12 in California, the plaintiffs alleged forced labour and abuse on board Chinese-owned longline vessels in Bumble Bee’s supply chain. The complaint detailed abuses such as withheld wages, physical mistreatment, long working hours, debt bondage, and threats to their families.

It is believed to be the first case of forced labour at sea brought against an American seafood company.

“Trafficking at sea happens because it’s profitable, perpetrators can avoid getting caught because the victims are isolated from law enforcement and there are so many jurisdictional hurdles to effective enforcement,” Agnieszka Fryszman, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, told This Week in Asia, adding that once onshore, fishers often lack access to legal support in other countries.

“Merely arresting the low level actors will not put a stop to forced labour.”

Bumble Bee, which is owned by a Taiwanese tuna trader FCF Co. Ltd., did not respond to a request for comment. The company is one of the top canned albacore tuna brands in the US, earning more than US$1 billion in annual revenues, the lawsuit said.
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