Behind Seafood Lies Modern Fishing Slavery; Taiwan Government Accused of Letting Fishermen Be Exploited

It has been 30 months since the EU issued a yellow card to Taiwan's distant-water fishing industry, and the picture gradually emerging is that illegal fishing and the abuse of fishermen are often two sides of the same coin. Reporters from News&Market interviewed domestic and international experts to explore how the structure of "fishing the sea to exhaustion" exploits both the ocean and human rights.

Poor management of fishermen and human trafficking are both ongoing realities

They say the most beautiful scenery in Taiwan is its people, but what foreign fishermen see is clearly a different picture.

"If someone offers you a contract for 85,000 Philippine pesos (about 1,700 US dollars), do not sign it." In the video, the foreign fisherman chokes up in tears, struggling desperately like a fish caught in a net, "It took me 9 months before I escaped." As an illegal fisherman without any documents, the Taiwan captain knew he could not afford to be seen, so he could only swallow his anger in the shadows.

In a video filmed by the UK-based Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), fishing boats flying the Taiwan flag or operated by Taiwanese had harsh working conditions, shipowners squeezed wages, foreign fishermen faced threats of physical violence, and even a full meal was a luxury.

Regarding these accusations, Chen Wen-chin, secretary-general of the Keelung Fishermen's Association, and Wang Chih-pin, general manager of Li Feng Ultra-Low Temperature, which operates distant-water fishing, both believe that the abuse of fishermen is only an isolated case and should not be generalized. The Council of Agriculture also stated that regulations have improved over the past two years, and "the abuse of fishermen is already a thing of the past."

The fact before our eyes is that poor management of fisheries and fishermen, and even human trafficking, are ongoing realities.