Correspondence
Email sent to Martin Fortier, Administration and Purchasing Manager at Pecheries Oceanic Fisheries.
The email said that the company's supplier Yantai Sanko Fisheries has received persons from the Xinjiang region of China under a state- imposed labor transfer program. The United Nations, human rights organizations and academic experts agree that since 2018, the Chinese government has systematically subjected Xinjiang’s predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities to forced labor across the country via state-sanctioned employment programs which use coercive methods in worker enrollment, and obstruct freedom to leave employment. The email asked for comment.
Email sent to Pecheries Oceanic about a second of its suppliers taking Uyghur labor via China's state-sponsored labor transfer program: Rongcheng Haibo. The email also asked for comment.
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed two contact addresses at Pecheries Oceanic Fisheries, saying: "Trade records viewed by The Outlaw Ocean Project show that Pecheries Oceanic Fisheries was the consignee for several shipments of seafood from Shandong Haidu Ocean Product Co. Ltd. since 2021. Shandong Haidu is a Chishan Group company. A company we previously contacted you about, Rongcheng Haibo, is also a Chishan Group company. Our investigation found that fishing vessels owned by the group have been observed fishing in North Korean waters in contravention of UN sanctions and fishing illegally in Indonesian waters. The group also owns at least two reefer vessels which have transshipped with dozens of fishing ships tied to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing as well as human rights abuses. One such vessel is the Zhen Fa 7 (owned by Rongcheng Wangdao Dayang). Our research demonstrates forced labor and gross negligence – resulting in crew illness and death – on the Zhen Fa 7 between 2020 and 2021. Our research has also uncovered evidence that Shandong Haidu has received persons from the Xinjiang region of China under the state-imposed labor transfer program referred to us in our emails (dated May 23 and June 21), since 2021 and as recently as May 2023. According to trade records Pecheries Oceanic Fisheries has also imported squid from Rongcheng Guangrun Aquatic Food, a company based in China and owned by the Shandong Bodelong Group. Bodelong Group squid vessels have committed numerous illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing offenses, including disabling transmitters and discarding thousands of kilos of squid into the sea, and have disembarked at least two dead deckhands in the Port of Montevideo, in 2016 and 2019. One vessel also disembarked an ill deckhand in Montevideo in 2020 who had symptoms of beriberi, a sign of severe neglect. While we recognize that you may not be aware of the above problems, we wanted to ask you if Pecheries Oceanic Fisheries has any comment or statement in response to the above information, or to our previous emails. Can you also confirm if Yantai Sanko Fisheries is still a supplier to Pecheries Oceanic Fisheries?"