Correspondence
Email sent to Eva Due Ditlevsen, Forwarding Coordinator at Sirena Group.
The email said that trade records show that Sirena Group has imported shipments of seafood from a supplier called Yantai Sanko Fisheries Co. Ltd., based in China. Yantai Sanko Fisheries Co. Ltd. has received persons from the Xinjiang region of China under a state- imposed labor transfer program since 2019 and until at least April 2023. 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. The U.S. has prohibited the importation of goods produced from state-imposed forced labor. The email also asked: Sirena Group’s website features a customer testimonial from Lyons Seafoods - has Sirena supplied Lyons with any seafood sourced through Yantai Sanko Fisheries? Does Sirena Group have any comment or clarification to make in response to this email?
Boe Spurré, CEO of Sirena Group, emailed: "We haven’t had any transaction with the below company since 2017."
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied that trade data indicates that Sirena A/S has imported at least 6 shipments of frozen pollock fillets direct from Yantai Sanko Fisheries since the plant is known to have started using Uyghur forced labor. The earliest of these shipments was November 7, 2019, and the most recent was March 12, 2022. The email asked: Could you confirm whether Sirena A/S is familiar with these shipments?
Boe Spurré, CEO of Sirena Group, responded: "Frozen pollock filets is not one of our core species – what is the source of this information?"
Boe Spurré, CEO of Sirena Group, replied: "I still need clarification from where this data was obtained as the data mentioned below is mostly data which can be found on our website."