April 9, 2018 — Stung by lingering allegations of human trafficking and forced labor, the Hawaii fishing industry has developed a formal code of conduct, crew handbook and model employee contract aimed at protecting the workers aboard its fleet of more than 140 vessels.
“It makes the most amount of sense that we give the public a certain degree of confidence that none of this is happening in our industry,” said Khang Dang, owner of 22 fishing boats and a member of the Hawaii Longline Association board of directors.
The documents — available in five languages and distributed to fishermen in the harbor last week — are designed to let the largely foreign ranks of contract fishing crew members clearly understand their rights, benefits and grievance procedures while they are working in Hawaii.
The Hawaii Longline Association initiated the effort following a September 2016 Associated Press investigation that brought national attention to allegations of forced labor, human trafficking, mistreatment and unsafe conditions.
The owners of the boats that make up the Pacific fishing fleet based in Honolulu were portrayed as taking advantage of a loophole in federal law to abuse foreign workers via inhumane working conditions, broken contracts and lousy pay.
The report prompted wholesale buyers and retailers to question whether the fish being sold was ethically sourced and led to an effort by state lawmakers to propose leveraging state fishing licenses to improve conditions in the industry.
Read the full story at the Honolulu Star Advertiser