Deep-sea workers File Lawsuit Against Bumble Bee, Alleging Forced Labor Conditions on Fishing Vessels
Rewritten Article:
John Doe vividly recalls the excruciating pain as scalding oil drenched his stomach and splattered down his legs, his damp clothes sticking to his seared skin, causing it to bubble and swell. Much like many impoverished Indonesian men, he signed up to work abroad in the fishing business, where wages are higher than back home. He was hired in 2021 to work as a cook on a ship supplying fish to Bumble Bee Foods, one of America's largest tuna importers.
However, upon arrival, he claims he was physically abused and forced to endure hazardous and grueling working conditions. When John Doe sustained severe burns while working in the kitchen, he alleges he was left crying in agony on a bench and denied food, water, and medical attention.
John Doe's ordeal is detailed in a historic lawsuit filed by four Indonesian fishermen against Bumble Bee Foods. The lawsuit alleges that the tuna corporation "willfully profited" from forced labor, debt bondage, and other forms of abuse within their supply chain.
In a statement delivered to CNN, Bumble Bee Seafoods stated they became aware of the lawsuit on Wednesday and will not comment on ongoing legal proceedings. The allegations have not been verified in court.
The four whistleblowers worked on three separate fishing vessels providing tuna to Bumble Bee, according to the legal complaint filed on March 12 in a federal California court. While at sea, the men assert they were physically abused and held against their will.
This lawsuit is the first known case of fishing boat slavery brought against a US seafood company, as reported by Agnieszka Fryszman, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs, to CNN.
"Fishing vessels rarely have to dock, making it incredibly easy to engage in forced labor and human trafficking," Fryszman explained.
Human rights atrocities in the fishing industry are well-documented but accountability remains scarce. The industry operates covertly due to its reliance on migrant workers, the convoluted nature of global supply chains, and the fact that the work occurs at sea, where workers are typically barred from land-based labor laws.
Campaigners have long advocated for US companies to take greater responsibility for ensuring their supply chains are free from abuse.
"These are people who were eager to work to improve their families' lives. In essence, Americans are consuming this tuna, which is produced under appalling working conditions," projected Sari Heidenrich, a senior human rights advisor in the global fisheries unit for Greenpeace, who is also representing the plaintiffs.
Bumble Bee imported tuna obtained through forced labor, lawsuit alleges
Bumble Bee is one of the oldest canned seafood firms in the US and holds the largest market share for canned and pouch tuna, according to the Seafood Stewardship Index. The global tuna fishing industry is estimated to generate around $40 billion, as per Pew Trusts.
In 2019, the company filed for bankruptcy amid a price-fixing scandal and was acquired by Taiwanese fish conglomerate FCF Co for nearly $1 billion.
The fishermen allege that Bumble Bee violated US human trafficking laws by importing seafood produced under forced labor.
Like many migrant workers in the industry, the four were recruited by employment agencies that retained a considerable portion of their salaries as repayment for administrative costs in a practice known as debt bondage, leaving them with meager or no wages, according to the lawsuit. They were threatened with substantial fines if they quit.
The vessels remained at sea for months, with supply ships arriving to deliver fuel and retrieve the ship's catch — a standard procedure in deep-sea fishing known as transshipment — isolating the men and cutting them off from assistance. At times the men staged strikes to pressure their captains to let them depart, but they were not permitted to leave, they claim.
Fryszman claimed the lawyers for the plaintiffs were able to link Bumble Bee's canned tuna to the vessels the men worked on via the company's "Trace My Catch" tool, which enables customers to see which vessel their fish originated from.
After John Doe's accident, he was compelled to return to work, despite repeatedly requesting to resign, according to the complaint. He opted to wear a sarong to work because dressing in trousers exacerbated his burns. His captain allegedly assaulted him regularly, John Doe alleged.
Muhammad Sahrudin, another plaintiff, claimed the ship's captain repeatedly beat and whipped crew members, and stabbed them with needles. He said he was beaten so frequently that he couldn't remember the exact number of times.
Akhmad, another plaintiff who, like many Indonesians, uses only one name, claimed he was compelled to continue working after a load of fish fell on his leg, severely gashing it down to the bone and filling his boot with blood.
Angga, who, like many Indonesians, uses only one name, said the workers were routinely underfed and sometimes resorted to eating fishing bait.
Forced labor: the norm in the system
The fishermen's experiences mirror the stories of other migrant workers in the seafood industry, experts say.
"Forced labor is not isolated or exceptional, but rather a fundamental characteristic of the system," asserted Jessica Sparks, assistant professor in the division of agriculture, food, and environment at Tufts University.
A 2022 report by the International Labour Organization found nearly 128,000 workers trapped in forced labor aboard fishing vessels, a figure likely to be significantly underestimated, as per the report authors.
This lawsuit demonstrates the exact problem the fishing industry is infamous for, as "vulnerable individuals are recruited, mistreated on fishing vessels that are flagged to nations avoiding any accountability," said Natalie Klein, a professor of international law at the University of New South Wales.
Extensive reports on human rights abuses in the fishing industry from NGOs, international media outlets, and governments, including the US State Department, have put pressure on seafood companies to take responsibility for their supply chains and the conditions on the vessels catching their fish.
Bumble Bee affirms on its website that it is committed to "environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and protecting human rights." However, the lawsuit alleges that Bumble Bee was aware of abuses within its supply chain and has not taken sufficient measures to combat human trafficking.
The Seafood Stewardship Index, which evaluates the sustainability and ethical practices of the world's leading seafood corporations, awarded Bumble Bee a score of 1.27 out of 5, stating that the company "lacks credible evidence of addressing any negative human rights impacts."
The fishermen are seeking monetary compensation for the harm they have suffered, as well as changes such as banning transshipment, prohibiting the use of employment agencies, mandating medical equipment onboard, and ensuring the boats have Wi-Fi connections.
In 2020, the US temporarily halted imports from a Taiwan-based fishing vessel that reportedly supplied tuna to Bumble Bee due to concerns about human rights, as reported by the Associated Press. In 2022, a Greenpeace report separately linked Bumble Bee tuna to Taiwanese fishing vessels employing forced labor.
Last year, Bumble Bee agreed to remove claims of a "fair and safe supply chain" and "fair and responsible working conditions" from its website, social media, and advertising as part of a settlement with Global Labor Justice-International Labor Rights Forum. In a 2021 interview with Seafood Source, Leslie Hushka, Bumble Bee's senior vice president of global corporate social responsibility, described worker abuses on fishing vessels as "a challenge faced across the industry."
"There are numerous obstacles in this industry, such as complexity, but we have endeavored to institute a variety of systems to routinely work with our fleets and foster improvements in all of their practices," Hushka stated.
- The lawsuit filed by four Indonesian fishermen against Bumble Bee Foods alleges that the tuna corporation, one of America's largest tuna importers, profited from forced labor, debt bondage, and other forms of abuse within their supply chain.
- The global tuna fishing industry, which generates around $40 billion, according to Pew Trusts, has long been infamous for human rights abuses, as vulnerable individuals are recruited, mistreated on fishing vessels, and cut off from assistance.
- In 2021, Bumble Bee Foods was hired to supply fish to a company that imports tuna, but the fishermen working for the company were physically abused and forced to endure hazardous and grueling working conditions, resulting in severe burns for one of the workers.
