Photo: ITF Report

Labor Exploitation on SPRFMO-Registered Vessels Raises Concerns

CHILE
Friday, February 14, 2025, 00:10 (GMT + 9)

The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) has been actively supporting workers in the industrial fishing sector, particularly those on distant-water fishing fleets, as part of its Decent Work in Fishing Project in South America.

Ahead of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization's (SPRFMO) imminent discussion on a Crew Labor Standards Conservation and Management Measure proposed by New Zealand, the ITF commissioned Sabina Goldaracena and Sergio Almada to conduct a study on working conditions on extra-regional fleets registered with the SPRFMO.

SPRFMO area map

Titled "Labor Exploitation on Distant-Water Fishing Vessels Registered with the SPRFMO: The Importance of Comprehensive Risk Analysis Prior to Port Arrival," the report draws on port data primarily from official sources in Peru (the main port state for these vessels in the Southeast Pacific), as well as Uruguay, Argentina, and the Falkland Islands.

The report's authors state that "behind the activity of distant-water fishing fleets, various forms of maritime crime converge; among them, human trafficking and forced labor for the purpose of labor exploitation, as well as various forms of human rights violations on board, which, due to their severity and the aberrant nature of their consequences, deserve special and prominent attention."

They argue that brief port calls represent the best opportunities for the prevention, detection, and suppression of such crimes, and that a comprehensive pre-arrival risk analysis would greatly contribute to these objectives.

Forced labour and labour exploitation on board are crimes that know no borders. Photo: ITF Report -->

The study reveals that between 2013 and 2023, 66 crew members from 59 SPRFMO-registered vessels were disembarked deceased in regional ports or disappeared after falling overboard. Additionally, in Peruvian ports alone, at least 27 sick or injured crew members from SPRFMO-registered vessels were disembarked for medical attention in 2024.

The authors note that while fishing is considered among the world's most dangerous occupations, labor exploitation of crews contributes to these statistics.

Photo: ITF Report

Through case studies, applying a regional and company-level approach, and using background information of various kinds, originating in different countries and from different authorities and organizations, the ITF report demonstrates the existence of forced labor and other forms of labor abuses aboard distant-water fishing vessels operating in the high seas of South America.

The authors conclude that interagency work, cooperation, and information exchange between the control authorities of the countries of the region, as well as between these and civil society organizations and international bodies with influence in the activity of these fleets, are fundamental.

This research was supported by the South Pacific Giant Squid Management Committee (CALAMASUR).

According to Alfonso Miranda Eyzaguirre, president of CALAMASUR, the report confirms what the group has repeatedly denounced: "distant-water fishing continues to operate under a worrying vacuum of control and supervision, allowing the proliferation of labor abuses and human rights violations on the high seas."

Miranda urges SPRFMO members, especially Ecuador, Peru, and Chile as coastal states, to take an active role in the SPRFMO meeting. He considers the New Zealand proposal a significant step forward but warns that its success will depend on the real commitment of states to ensure its effective implementation and put an end to the impunity of fleets denounced worldwide.

For his part, Chris Williams, of the ITF fisheries section, said that "the SPRFMO has the opportunity to develop Conservation and Management Measures (CMMs) that protect workers on vessels operating in the Convention Area and ensure that their rights are respected and they are provided with medical care."

Williams indicated that cooperation between agencies within each State Party, as well as between different countries, is essential in the fight against forced labor in fishing. The ITF and its affiliates

Author: Sabina Goldaracena

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