HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES

Aside from the environmental issues that are rife in the fishing industry, there’s also the case of human rights abuses.

A 2021 editorial from Human Rights at Sea said, “The international community and global public unapologetically need to hear more about the murders, rapes, slavery, trafficking, forced labor, debt bondage, abandonment and numerous other human and labour rights abuses occurring every day at sea.” International exposés have also uncovered abuses of Thai, Taiwanese, and New Zealand fleets, according to the editorial.

Center for Advanced Defense Studies, a Us-based nonprofit specializing in transnational security, also reported that Taiwanese and Chinese fishing fleets have the highest rate of forced labor in the world, with most of their migrant workers coming from Vietnam, Philippines, and Indonesia.

Many human rights abuses at sea are happening in different parts of the world as we speak, with the vulnerable and marginalized at most risk. And it is high time that their struggles are given attention, too.