The Impact of COVID-19 on Modern Slavery in Commercial Fishing

Thanks to Juno Fitzpatrick for the ideas and resources that initially sparked this article

Commercial fishing results in a whopping 180 million tons of fish per year. Who is involved in the process? Where are the risks for modern slavery most salient? How has COVID impacted the fishing industry? What can we do to build back better? This article introduces how present-day commercial fishing operates, briefly explains applicable regulation, and describes how COVID-19 has affected this industry and the risks it presents for a spike in Modern Slavery. Finally, it presents recommendations for key stakeholders.

Understanding the scope of commercial fishing

Said simply, fish need to be taken out of the water, processed, and sold before they reach your plate. In the broadest terms, the fish we eat are either captured in the wild or grown through aquaculture. Although some people fish for fun or for their own subsistence, this article focuses on commercial fishing and it’s working conditions. Fish can be caught by a variety of methods that include nets (purse seines, trawls, or gill nets), lines (longline or pole), dredging, or diving. Aquaculture refers to breeding, raising, and harvesting fish for commercial use.

Where does commercial fishing take place?

Fish live where there is a high concentration of photosynthetic activity. The map below shows how areas with high concentration of chlorophyll in the water (in green and red) are also those with high levels of fish catch. 68% of the global fishing fleet is in Asia.

How big is this industry?

With 2018 data, the FAO estimates that commercial fishing employs nearly 59 million people, 50% of whom are women, that work to provide us with the approximately 180 million tons of fish that are produced or captured on a yearly basis. Sadly, nearly 35% of that amount is lost or wasted every year. Fish consumption is growing: it accounts for 17% of animal protein consumed, and per capita consumption is estimated to be 20.5kg per year.

Although many fisheries are managed responsibly, there is growing concern around illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU) which violates applicable regulations and threatens our ecosystems by fishing without a license, during closed seasons, or keeping undersized fish, among others. This affects our food security, the long-term sustainability of the industry, and the livelihoods of millions of people that depend on it. IUU fishing is estimated to be around 19% of global catch, but a global methodology to measure it is only now getting started.

How does sustainability play a role in commercial fishing?

The Sustainable Development Goals include Target 14.4 to end overfishing of marine fisheries and IUU by 2020. This target is not expected to be met. If anything, at a global scale we were doing better in the 1970’s than we are today. The 2020 State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture Report found that even though in 1974 nearly 90% of global fisheries were within sustainable levels, today, that number is down to around 65%. Global fish production and consumption are expected to increase, with a higher proportion of demand being met by aquaculture. Good fishery management recognizes that environmental sustainability is a crucial element to long-term profitability of the industry.

Who regulates fishing?

Part of what makes commercial fisheries so difficult to regulate or oversee is the inherent nature of where fishing takes place. Countries have full authority over the 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) that spread out from their shorelines. This is known as an exclusive economic zone, or EEZ. Although they are called exclusive, the ocean is not anyone’s private property and there is no easy way to exclude someone from exploiting it.

Anything beyond the EEZ is part of what we informally call the high seas. To give a sense of proportion, over 40% of our planet is deemed to be international waters that are not under direct control or jurisdiction of any country. Ships of any country can navigate in the high seas and countries can lay pipes or cables in international waters. The map below shows in dark blue the high seas and in lighter blue what is within a country’s EEZ.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) came into force in 1982 to formalize these provisions. It also created a plethora of organizations to protect this shared resource. From a policy standpoint, the high seas are the epitome of a collective action problem: we would all be better off if we cooperated. Nonetheless, individual states have mismatched incentives that lead them to prefer to act in a way that meets their own goals instead of the goals of the greater community. As such, the high seas are left unprotected. The US has not ratified UNCLOS.

A recognition that the current regulatory system is flawed has prompted renewed efforts for new legislation that is better suited to protect this valuable space. Since 2018, negotiations have been initiated to discuss a new, legally binding treaty that would protect the area beyond the EEZ. The latest negotiation round took place in April, 2020.

As a separate development, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) developed the Code for Responsible Fisheries in 1995 to clearly define principles for the use of fishers and foster cooperation for a sustainable use of the ocean. The Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) entered into force in 2016, and is the first legally binding instrument to target IUU directly by creating new regulations that delineate standards for foreign vessels seeking entry into their ports.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) has also been active in this area with the Work in Fishing Convention (188) of 2007 and its subsequent recommendation that defines the minimum age to work on fishing vessels at 16, minimum rest periods, and a maximum validity of two years for medical certificates, among other provisions. The ILO also launched an action program specifically against forced labor and trafficking in fishing (GAPfish).

The Monterey Framework for Social Responsibility came into force the same year as the PSMA. It’s three core principles are: to protect human rights, dignity, and access to resources; to ensure equality and equitable opportunity to benefits, and to improve food and livelihood security. This initiative sets itself apart from the ones previously mentioned as it was led by representatives from nonprofits and the industry.

Modern Slavery in Commercial Fishing

Having described how commercial fishing operates and its overall scope, this section will now summarize the major risks for Modern Slavery in commercial fishing. Reports on Modern Slavery in fishing reached a turning point in 2016, with several exposes highlighting the problem in Thailand, Indonesia, and other countries in the region. The Associated Press won a Pulitzer Prize that year for its work on labor abuse in the fishing industry in Southeast Asia. These reports brought attention to the transnational criminal nature of deceptive recruitment of migrant workers, work schedules exceeding 20 hours per day, indebted labor, double-flagged vessels, and transshipment (fish moved from one boat to another to avoid regulation or returning to port), among others. Recent reporting has shed light on the exploitative conditions in vessels in the global North, including countries in Europe and New Zealand.

As is the case with other industries described in previous articles on this Medium channel, Modern Slavery does not occur in isolation. Forced labor is linked to other crimes: IUU, document fraud, tax evasion, etc. Additionally, environmental and social factors are inextricably linked. As such, research has found that fish stock declines can correlate with an increase in modern slavery indicators. As stocks decline, vessels are fishing longer, further, and deeper. A 2018 article published in Nature estimates that vessels today require twice the fishing effort of the 1950’s to catch the same amount of fish. To maintain their profits under these new operating conditions, vessels seek to cut costs. Labor costs are between 30–50% of total variable costs. Underpaid or unpaid labor is one of the ways in which vessel operators offset the increasing costs of going further into sea.

Another intersection that is relevant to this issue is that of depleting stocks and migration: the decrease in fish stocks in the Global South impacts the ability of artisanal fishing communities to meet their needs, and thus heightens the pressure to migrate to sustain their families through other methods.

As was previously mentioned, commercial fishing is notoriously hard to monitor due to the circumstances in which it takes place: vessels are at sea for months on end making it difficult to engage with workers and evaluate actual conditions. Additionally, supply chains are complex and involve multiple intermediaries between the source vessel and the consumer. Laundering is widespread: between 20–32% of US seafood imports are illegal.

Four years after the reports that sparked the initial outcry, allegations of forced labor in commercial fishing continue. A 2019 report found that only one of the brands interviewed could “confidently claim slavery is not involved in its supply”. The pervasive nature of the problem has led some voices to advocate strongly for labor unions as a way to balance power between workers and their employers and transform working conditions. In some cases, this would require reforming legislation to allow for workers of any nationality to join a union. The next section will explore how the COVID-19 pandemic can increase the risk for modern slavery aboard shipping vessels.

COVID-19 in the High Seas

The pandemic has impacted commercial fishing in at least 3 ways: 1) testing and treatment available on vessels, 2) diminished oversight, and 3) limited ability of workers to disembark at the end of their contract due to lockdowns.

If testing has been insufficient and direly lacking on land, imagine the difficulties of accessing reliable tests and results while in the high seas. The proximity of workers on vessels and the lack of adequate hygiene infrastructure makes it difficult to slow the spread on a ship. Given that the virus can spread while asymptomatic, one can imagine that a worker that appears healthy boards a ship to work only to start exhibiting symptoms a few days later, after which they have already spread the disease to other co-workers. As early as March 15, 2020, a captain sent a letter to the director of the IMO calling for testing and PPE to be made available on all ships and mandatory reporting and evacuation of confirmed cases.

Social distancing is nearly impossible aboard a fishing vessel. By the time a ship gets back to port, it may be too late to control the outbreak. Additionally, ports are often located in regions that lack adequate health infrastructure and could be easily overwhelmed by the arrival of large, sick crews. If turned away from ports, fishermen could then be left without access to medical care, food, or water.

We have previously described the difficulties in monitoring and enforcement of legislation in the context of commercial fishing. These difficulties will increase under the pandemic and may widen the window of opportunity for IUU fishing. For example, in the US, NOAA Fisheries granted a waiver for observers and at-sea monitoring until August 1. Transshipment occurs with little oversight and is often an indicator of human rights risks. As a CSIS report warns, ports continue to restrict access. This at its turn increases the pressures to rely on transshipment. As was the case with ASM mining, enforcement agencies may see a reduction of funding due to efforts being directed towards COVID relief programs. The diminished oversight and redirection of funds can also affect research and stock assessments.

The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre has reported on cases of seafarers (fishermen and otherwise) that are unable to leave their ships once their contracts expire due to lockdowns and restrictions of movement in their country of origin or port cities. By late May, there were 200,000 stranded seafarers unable to return to their country of origin. In June, the International Labor Organization called on governments to implement measures to return the stranded seafarers to their countries of origin.

Although this article focused on commercial fishing, it is important to remember that small-scale fishing communities and artisanal fisheries are often underserved and already at risk from the pandemic.

Recommendations

As we plan to #buildbackbetter, here are some specific action steps to consider:

COVID-Specific

Safeguard workers during the pandemic by:

• Providing testing kits on vessels
• Evacuating confirmed cases
• Enhancing hygiene protocols on board and in processing facilities on land. ABALOBI, a South African social enterprise that uses a cold chain operations platform in small-scale fishing communities, is an example of revised operations amidst the pandemic.
• Implement the Recommended framework of protocols for ensuring safe ship crew changes and travel during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

General

• Implement a human rights due diligence approach by using the Social Responsibility Assessment Tool for the Seafood Sector by Conservation International.
• Include workers in the development of codes of conduct.
• Expand the use of electronic tracking (traditionally used to monitor bycatch) to address social risk.
• Support the amendment of the US Lacey Act to prevent the import of illegally caught seafood.
• Commit to using Certified Sustainable seafood at home, in your restaurant, or in your retail store. One option is Marine Stewardship Council blue fish label that certifies the product meets the MSC Fisheries Standard. Use the Seafood Watch site or app to help guide your seafood choices.
• Train port officials in human trafficking and forced labor indicators.

Additional resources

• On how the maximum sustainable yield of a fishery is calculated
• For a detailed description of the rise of aquaculture
• Other problems of commercial fishing not covered in this article
• IUU Index to visualize country by country efforts to combat IUU
• Issues specific to Distant Water Fishing (DWF)