Saving Seafood

US: Forced labor continues on Thai fishing vessels

April 14, 2016 — WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department said Wednesday that forced labor on Thai fishing vessels has continued in the past year despite legal reforms and arrests following an Associated Press investigation into the country’s seafood industry.

The department made the assessment in its annual global review of human rights practices, released in Washington by Secretary of State John Kerry. The report covers the 2015 calendar year.

The report finds that the Thai government has reaffirmed its “zero tolerance” policy for human trafficking and updated many laws that enhance regulatory powers and increase punishment for violations. An amended anti-trafficking law provides protection to whistleblowers and gives authorities the power to halt operations temporarily or suspend licenses of businesses and vehicles involved in human trafficking.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The New Jersey Herald

New Initiative Seeks to Improve Human Rights Protections in Thailand’s Fishing Sector

WASHINGTON — March 14, 2016 — Renowned Thai human rights and labor advocate Sompong Srakaew has formed a new initiative aimed at ridding Southeast Asia’s seafood sector of human trafficking and other labor abuses.

MAST, the Multi-stakeholder Initiative for Accountable Supply Chain of Thai Fisheries, brings together Mr. Sompong’s Labor Rights Promotion Network Foundation (LPN) and TLCS Legal Advocate Company in Bangkok. Human rights consultancy The Mara Partners and law firm Kelley Drye & Warren LLP are coordinating MAST’s efforts in the U.S.

“MAST will continue the work of reforming Thai fisheries to eliminate human trafficking and all other forms of forced labor, as well as illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing practices,” Mr. Sompong said. “We will work together with civil society, industry, and governments to help put an end to these abuses.”

Mr. Sompong’s LPN, founded in 2004, has advocated for migrant worker rights, conducted raids to free migrant workers in forced labor situations, and helped strengthen The Kingdom of Thailand’s human trafficking laws. As LPN’s founder, Mr. Sompong was recognized by the U.S. State Department with a Trafficking in Persons Hero Award in 2008 for his efforts to combat modern day slavery and improve the lives of migrant workers in Thailand.

MAST’s immediate goals include the creation of a Thai fishermen’s union; the establishment of centers at ports to provide shelter, food, and first aid to fishermen; and the strengthening of public awareness of migrant worker living conditions. It aims to serve as a watchdog to prevent human trafficking and to open a legal clinic for trafficking victims.

MAST will also begin exploring effective and achievable ways to help track and monitor fishing vessels of all sizes and ensure the integrity of the supply chain from the sea to the factory. It seeks to promote full compliance with Thailand’s new law combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, and requiring an ethical supply chain.

Nine Thai fishing organizations have already committed to joining MAST’s efforts, including the National Fisheries Association of Thailand, the Pair Trawlers Association of Thailand, and the Coalition of Peeling Sheds. The group will work to build a coalition of governments, international organizations, private sector companies, trade associations, NGOs, human rights lawyers, and academics.

Illegal practices in Thailand’s multi-billion-dollar fishing industry have been the focus of recent reports in international media. Mr. Sompong has been featured discussing the problem on PBS NewsHour and in The Australian.

MAST leaders Sompong Srakaew and Dornnapha Sukkree meet with U.S. Department of Labor officials in Washington. (2016)

The first group of Thai and Burmese workers rescued from Ambon Island, Indonesia by the LPN. The group was provided with food and basic necessities until their safe return home. (2014)

A group of workers being held in a private jail on Ambon Island, Indonesia. Fearing that this photo could be his last, one worker said, “Take my picture and tell my family, I am here and I am still alive.” These workers have since been rescued and retuned home, but their government only identified two of them as victims of human trafficking. (2014)

On Ambon Island, Indonesia, Samak Tubtanee, head of the Human Trafficking Office at the LPN, works to return forced laborers to their homes. (2014)

The graves of unknown Thai fishermen on Ambon Island, Indonesia. (2014)

A group of migrant workers at an immigration detention facility on Ambon Island, Indonesia. (2014)

The overgrown graves of fishermen from Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar cover the forest floor of Benjina Island, Indonesia. (2014)

LPN Program Manager Patima Tangprachakoon, alongside Laotian officials, meets with the family of a missing Laotian fisherman at the Laotian embassy in Thailand. The fisherman was eventually returned home safely. (2014)

 

U.S. State Department Seeks Judges for Third Annual Fishackathon

February 12, 2016 —  The United States Department of State has asked Saving Seafood to distribute this information regarding their “Fishackathon 2016” for which they are seeking judges from the fishing industry and related academic disciplines. For more information go to: Fishackathon.co, and if you are interested in being a judge please contact: Erika Crowell at CrowellE@state.gov

Fishackathon 2016

On Earth Day 2016, the U.S. Department of State will hold the third annual Fishackathon. Fishackathon is a public-private partnership that aims to capitalize on the expansion of mobile phone and internet use across the developing world to address sustainable fishery challenges. Volunteer coders, technologists, and designers will spend the weekend of April 22-24 developing usable solutions to problem statements solicited from fisheries experts around the world. At the end of the hackathons, teams will present their work and an expert panel of judges will nominate a winner from each site, eligible for worldwide grand prizes.
Here are the US/Canada Sites:

United States/Canada

1. Atlanta, GA (Georgia Aquarium)
2. Charleston, SC (South Carolina Aquarium)
3. Dallas, TX (Earth Day Dallas)
4. Long Beach, CA (Aquarium of the Pacific)
5. Monterey Bay, CA (Monterey Bay Aquarium)
6. New York City, NY (Patagonia)
7. Portland, OR (Uncorked Studios)
8. San Francisco, CA (Many Labs)
9. Seattle, WA (Impact Hub)
10. Tampa, FL (The Florida Aquarium)
11. Toronto, Canada
12. Vancouver, Canada (Vancouver Aquarium)
13. Washington, DC (Impact Hub)
14. Worcester, MA (Worcester Polytechnic Institute)

Get involved!

Fishackathon host sites are seeking fisheries and technology experts to participate in the hackathon as:

Panel Judge – Panel Judges will serve to judge host site creations and chose one host site winner eligible for world -wide grand prizes on Sunday, April 24. Judges will be provided with a list of criteria to rate the host site presentations and submissions.

On-Site Consultant – Consultants will serve to provide subject matter/technical assistance, answer questions, and provide feedback to coders. We’re also seeking “on call” experts who can answer questions and provide feedback to teams around the world via Skype or E-mail throughout the weekend.

Team Member – Join a Team! Everyone is welcome to participate in a local or virtual team.

For more information go to: Fishackathon.co

State Department: Amid impasse, US could withdraw from Pacific tuna treaty

January 7, 2016 — Though there appears to be no immediate end in sight to a dispute over unpaid fees for fishing access that has seen the US tuna fleet grounded in the Pacific, one thing is clear: the parties involved agree that the existing treaty should be renegotiated in favor of a more flexible, permanent solution.

In statements to Undercurrent News, US State Department and the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA), which manages access to the tuna fishery, both said they see serious issues with the existing system and would like to see reforms to the South Pacific Tuna Treaty.

“Longer-term, we are increasingly concerned about whether the treaty can remain operationally viable and believe a new approach is required,” a State Department spokeswoman wrote in a statement to Undercurrent.

She added that the US has told the PNA that it is weighing a pull out from the existing arrangement.

“The United States previously informed Pacific island parties that it was considering the possibility of withdrawal from the treaty as the terms offered in negotiations continued to deteriorate and commercial differences threatened to negatively affect our positive cooperation with the region,” the spokeswoman said.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Rep. Duncan Hunter to Kerry: Help save US tuna jobs

January 5, 2016 — U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter wants the U.S. State Department to step in to assist American tuna boats — many with ties to San Diego — that are shut out of a large area of the Pacific Ocean for the first time in nearly 30 years.

In a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, given to The San Diego Union-Tribune on Monday, Hunter writes that the U.S. government must act fast to help the tuna fleet.

Last week, administrators of the South Pacific Tuna Treaty — a 27-year-old accord among 17 nations governing waters in the western Pacific — refused to issue 2016 licenses on Jan. 1. It said American boats must pay millions of dollars in fees, they agreed to in August, to fish international waters.

Some of the tuna boat operators in the 37-boat fleet say a bad 2015 fishing season has left them unable to pay the first quarterly payment of $17 million.

“An extended prohibition against the U.S.-flag tuna fleet fishing in the treaty area may well bankrupt the fleet and jeopardize the thousands of American jobs it supports,” wrote Hunter, R-Alpine.

Read the full story at The San Diego Union-Tribune

 

Thailand Remains at Lowest Tier 3 Rank in 2015 Trafficking in Persons Report

July 27, 2015 — The United States took Malaysia off its list of worst offenders in human trafficking on Monday, removing a potential barrier to its joining a signature trade pact despite opposition from human rights groups and nearly 180 U.S. lawmakers.

The U.S. State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons report also upgraded Cuba from its lowest rank for the first time since it was included in the annual report in 2003.

South Sudan, Burundi, Belize, Belarus and Comoros were downgraded to the lowest rank, Tier 3, where Thailand remained for a second year, alongside countries with some of the world’s worst trafficking records, including Iran, North Korea and Zimbabwe.

Egypt was downgraded, to the so-called “Tier 2 Watch List” status, while Cuba, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan were upgraded to “Tier 2 Watch List.”

Malaysia’s expected upgrade to the “Tier 2 Watch List” from Tier 3 removes a potential barrier to President Barack Obama’s signature 12-nation Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement, or TPP.

Congress approved legislation in June giving Obama expanded trade negotiating powers, but prohibiting deals with Tier 3 countries such as Malaysia.

After a July 8 Reuters report on plans to upgrade Malaysia, 160 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and 18 U.S. senators wrote to Secretary of State John Kerry urging him to keep Malaysia on Tier 3. They said there was no justification for an upgrade and questioned whether the plan was motivated by a desire to keep the country in the TPP.

Read the full story from Reuters