Fisheries industry harpooned
DISCREPANCIES: A Fisheries Agency official said that the report did not provide the names of the fishers interviewed, and that their accounts did not count as evidence
By Dennis Xie / Staff writer, with CNA
Forced labor, human rights abuses and illegal fishing practices continue to mar Taiwan’s deep-sea fishing industry, a new report by Greenpeace East Asia shows, Greenpeace Taiwan said yesterday as it called on the government to take legal action to end such abuses.
Choppy Waters — Forced Labour and Illegal Fishing in Taiwan’s Distant Water Fisheries details the results of a two-month investigation, including interviews with Indonesian migrant fishers working on vessels flagged or otherwise connected to Taiwan.
According to interview with four Indonesian fishers, six of the 11 International Labour Organization (ILO) indicators of forced labor were met, such as the lack of clean drinking water, being required to work 34 consecutive, wage withholding, monthly wage of less than US$450, Greenpeace Taiwan member Moffy Chen (陳瓊妤) told a news conference in Taipei.
A pregnant shark caught by a Taiwanese ship in the Atlantic Ocean last year is pictured alongside her babies in an undated photograph.
Photo courtesy of Greenpeace Taiwan