SAN DIEGO (CN) — Canned seafood giant Bumble Bee knowingly sources its tuna from fleets that use physical violence and negligence to entrap workers and force them to fish in inhumane and horrific conditions in order to maximize company profits, four fishermen from rural Indonesia claim in a complaint filed in San Diego federal court on Wednesday.
“These men were looking for good jobs so they could provide for their families and build a future. Instead, they allege, they were trapped — isolated at sea, beaten with metal hooks, not getting enough food, working around the clock — and facing financial penalties if they tried to leave. The complaint outlines how each of them asked to be released, but were kept on board against their will — and in some cases didn’t take home a single penny for their labor,” plaintiff attorney Agnieszka Fryszman, partner at Cohen Milstein, said in a statement.
A man from rural Java identified in the suit as Akhmad claims he signed a contract that promised him $300 a month to join a fishing ship. But $200 a month was deducted for his first eight months at sea, which amounted to one-third of the contract’s period, to repay his recruitment and administrative costs. Another $50 was deducted for his living expenses, which left him with only $50 a month to support himself and his family.
That wasn’t it though, according to him and three other workers in their complaint. His family was also threatened with “punishment,” fines and debt if he left the ship early.
Once on the ship, the captain beat Akhmad with a metal hook, then forced him to work while blood filled his boots, he said in the complaint.
Akhmad worked 18 hours per day, seven days per week and was only once given a day off on New Years, he claims.
He was only freed from his enslavement after his wife contacted Serikat Buruh Migran Indonesia, an Indonesian migrant workers’ union, that was able to release him with the help of local police and the International Organization for Migration.
Muhammad Syafi’i, another plaintiff, claims he suffered severe burns while working as a cook on board another tuna fishing ship. Not only did he not receive any medical attention, but the captain of the ship left him to die.
“When he did not die, the captain insisted he go back to work or pay a fee to eat. Syafi’i was not permitted to leave the ship despite making multiple requests to leave so he could seek medical care, resulting in permanent injuries,” the plaintiffs write in their complaint.
Syafi’i, Akhmad and two other workers who are listed as plaintiffs in the suit were left isolated and cut off from any help because of a business practice called “transshipment-at-sea,” where instead of stopping at a port to restock supplies and offload their catch, fishing companies will send supply ships out to a fishing boat on the high seas to restock and collect their catch.
The boats the plaintiffs were trapped on are a “trusted network” of longline fishing ships the San Diego-based Bumble Bee uses to source its albacore tuna from, they claim.
“It is well known that forced labor is prevalent in certain longline fleets,” the fishermen say. “Despite the widespread and well-documented abuses, tuna harvested with forced labor was imported into the United States by Bumble Bee and delivered to grocery store shelves where it was bought by American consumers.
The UN estimates that some 128,000 people are enslaved on fishing ships across the world. Because fishing is labor intensive, companies entrap workers to cut costs and maintain a competitive advantage, the plaintiffs claim.
Bumble Bee — which is owned by FCF Co Ltd., a Taiwanese company — claims about a $1 billion in annual revenue but the plaintiffs claim the company knowingly violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act for those profits.
“As part of its effort to stamp out human trafficking and forced labor, U.S. law authorizes survivors to bring claims in the United States against the persons who benefitted from those abuses, recognizing that forced labor overseas harms U.S. companies that obey the law. Our clients are seeking justice not only for themselves but to implement changes that will protect other fishers, including men at sea right now on those same boats,” Fryszman said.
The plaintiffs are asking the court for damages and to force Bumble Bee to implement policies that ensure that its business partners don’t use manning agencies that charge workers any fees or penalties for ending their contract, ensure their workers are paid in full monthly, provide a way for past worker-paid fees and unpaid wages to be remediated.
They also ask that the company ensure that its business partners don’t engage in transshipment-at-sea and require their ships to return to port every three months, allow workers at least 10 days of paid shore leave and access to medical equipment and WiFi to allow workers to access grievance mechanisms, authorities, or other sources of assistance.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to stop Bumble Bee from benefiting from tuna harvested without those protections.
A spokesperson for Bumble Bee declined to comment on pending litigation.