Impact
Direct and indirect outcomes of the investigation.
Legislation passed. Congressional hearing called. Company ties severed. Op-Eds published. CEO resigned. Federal agencies petitioned. Lawmakers demand company documents. E.U. parliament debates. China vows improvements.
- Op-Ed
Ian Ralby a maritime analyst, published an Op-Ed with the Center for Maritime Strategy, a think tank, in which he makes an unusual and intriguing argument based on the investigation about the definitional differences between slavery and trafficking & how it might legally change the ways that navies and coast guards handle these fishing ships prone to captivity/abuse.
Source: Center for Maritime Strategy - Op-Ed
SeafoodSource published an op-ed by a seafood supply chain expert who advised companies to conduct due diligence investigations of their suppliers in order to save themselves from “the fallout, costs, and embarrassment from the Outlaw Ocean report” and other journalism exposing worker abuses.
Source: SeafoodSource - Policy
SeafoodSource, an industry publication, cited a second legal petition filed to U.S. Customs & Border Protection — part of growing pressure from lawmakers and advocates to stop forced labor in US imported seafood.
Source: SeafoodSource - Policy
E&E news from Politico covered the decision by NOAA to delay the proposed expansion of its program for tracking seafood imports & the blowback from lawmakers & NGOs who cited the investigation & the need to stop imports tied to forced labor.
Source: E&E News - Op-Ed
Sarah Teich and Mehmet Tohti from the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project wrote an op-ed published in the Ottawa Citizen arguing that in light of the investigation and ties between Xinjiang forced labor and seafood, the Canadian government must stop the import of seafood tainted by such violations.
Source: Ottawa Citizen - Hearing
Rep. Jared Huffman said during a Congressional hearing with the Coast Guard and GAO that seafood coming into the U.S. is widely tainted by forced labor. He faulted NOAA's delay in expanding the seafood imports it tracks and he asked GAO to study how agencies can better prevent forced labor in seafood imports.
- Statement
Skadden Arps, one of the largest law firms in the U.S., published a “client alert” citing the investigation and predicted a possible uptick in seafood imports being blocked by Customs and Border Protection.
Source: JDSupra - Op-Ed
LA Times published an op-ed about the morality of eating seafood in light of the investigation's findings about the use of forced labor throughout China's supply chain.
Source: LA Times - Statement
The Uyghur Human Rights Project and Anti-Slavery International, two human rights organizations, called on U.S. customs to take action following the investigation by enforcing a law that enables the govt to block imports tied to forced labor, and called on other countries to pass their own legislation banning the import of products associated with abuses.
Source: Anti-Slavery International - Termination
Fastnet Fish, a U.K. frozen seafood supplier, cut ties with Shandong Meijia Group, a Chinese seafood processing conglomerate identified in the investigation as using forced labor.
Source: SeafoodSourceRead our discussions with Iceland Foods, Fastnet Fish, Shandong Meija Group.
- Policy
SeafoodSource, an industry publication, covered this year's Tokyo Sustainable Seafood Summit & said that companies focussed their discussion on the investigation and how to prevent forced labor in their supply chains.
Source: SeafoodSource - Policy
After a hearing before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, US lawmakers asked several questions in writing of the Outlaw Ocean Project, which provided written replies to be added as part of the official testimony on record.
Sources: Congressional Testimony Replying to Senator Dan Sullivan, Congressional Testimony Replying to Rep. Ryan Zinke - Op-Ed
Forbes magazine ran an op-ed by Olivia Enos, a Georgetown University governance professor, citing the investigation and arguing that the Customs and Border Protection agency needs to add seafood to a list of goods at high risk for ties to Uyghur forced labor.
Source: Forbes - Investigations
U.S. lawmakers sent a letter to Costco instructing the company to provide the “audits and risk assessments” it used to justify sourcing seafood from Chinese companies implicated by the investigation.
Sources: U.S. Congress, Congressional-Executive Commission on China, The Wall Street Journal - Policy
Lawyers from the Human Trafficking Legal Center filed a formal petition (a Withhold Release Order, or WRO, petition) to the Customs and Border Protection agency to halt all imports of squid from the Zhen Fa 7, the ship profiled in the investigation.
Source: IntraFish - Statement
Kitco News, a business news outlet, cites the investigation, congressional hearing, and letter to DHS as an event that can impact the global seafood market.
Source: Kitco News - Testimony
Ian Urbina provided testimony to the Congressional-Executive Commission on China about The Outlaw Ocean Project's investigation on forced labor in China's seafood industry.
- Testimony
At-Sea Processors Association submitted testimony for the Congressional-White House hearing about the investigation's findings. The org calls for the U.S. to adopt E.U.-style carding system & to better enforce the Uyghur protection law, especially regarding seafood. The org also criticized MSC & says that some “industry initiatives” to counter forced labor in seafood have “been too weak to make a difference.”
Source: Congressional-Executive Commission on China - Policy
Rep. Chris Smith and Sen. Jeffrey Merkley, chair and co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, submitted a letter to Dept. of Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas, citing the investigation. In the letter Smith and Merkley called for Withhold Release Orders for all seafood processors in Shandong and Liaoning Provinces, for import bans against companies employing North Korean labor and for companies using Uyghur labor to be added to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act “Entity List.”
Source: Congressional-Executive Commission on China - Policy
The Associated Press reports that U.S. lawmakers have asked the Biden administration to ban seafood processed in two Chinese provinces from entering the U.S. market because of concerns about rights abuses as cited in the investigation.
Source: Associated Press - Statement
The Business and Human Rights Resource Center, a human rights organization, covered the impact of the reporting, including High Liner Foods, Lund’s Fisheries, and the Pacific American Fishing Company firing their suppliers, and Walmart, Edeka, Tesco, and Kroger stating plans to investigate.
Source: Business and Human Rights Resource Center - Policy
Georgetown Law Professor Robert Stumberg testifies at the Congressional-Executive Commission on China's hearing about the investigation's findings and urges the government to update procurement regulations, more strictly implement the Uyghur safety law and expand seafood import monitoring.
Source: Congressional-Executive Commission on China - Policy
Sally Yozell, director of the environmental security program at the Stimson Center, testifies at the Congressional-Executive Commission on China's hearing about the investigation's findings and calls for expansion of the seafood import monitoring program and changing the definition of illegal fishing to include forced labor.
Source: Congressional-Executive Commission on China - Policy
Greg Scarlatoiu, director of The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, testifies at the Congressional-Executive Commission on China’s hearing about the investigation’s findings and calls for the government to enact import bans for seafood products made with North Korean labor and asked the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons to focus on forced labor in seafood.
Source: Congressional-Executive Commission on China - Policy
American University Professor Judy Gearhart testifies at the Congressional-Executive Commission on China's hearing about the investigation and calls for strengthening the seafood import monitoring program, increasing corporate reporting requirements, and bolstering protections for fishers' rights.
Source: Congressional-Executive Commission on China - Op-Ed
Ian Ralby, who runs I.R. Consilium, wrote an op-ed for the Center for International Maritime Security, arguing that aside from the investigation's findings about forced labor, the U.S. public and government should stop financing Chinese aggression toward the U.S. by ceasing purchases of Chinese caught or processed seafood, including that served on U.S. military bases or other public institutions.
Source: Center for International Maritime Security - Op-Ed
Intrafish ran an op-ed about the investigation arguing that preventing human rights abuses in the global seafood supply chain is appropriately going to cost money. (The otherwise smart op-ed has one small error in stating that the investigation “had no absolute proof, just a suspicion people are working against their will.” This wording misunderstands the Xinjiang issue & relevant federal law (UFLPA), which defines all workers from Xinjiang as categorically part of state-sponsored forced labor. The investigation, in fact, revealed extensive proof of Xinjiang & government-transferred workers into at least 10 seafood plants, the products from which are banned from import under US law due to their ties to state-sponsored forced labor.)
Source: IntraFish - Statement
Barry Andrews said in a video with Renew Europe that the investigation has made “absolutely clear” that forced labor is in the supply chains of Western supermarkets, including Aldi, Lidl, Tesco, and Musgrave, and these companies will be receiving “serious questions” soon.
Source: Barry Andrews - Policy
SeafoodSource, citing the ineffectiveness of auditing systems, looked at possible solutions to human rights abuses in seafood, including expanded import monitoring, gov't data collection and ceasing seafood purchases from China.
Source: SeafoodSource - Statement
Seafish, a U.K. seafood industry group, said the problem of Xinjiang, North Korean, and other forced labor revealed by the investigation seems to impact more than 300 companies across the industry and vowed to work with the industry to “develop appropriate responses” to the issue.
Source: The Fishing Daily - Policy
Two U.S. lawmakers wrote the Customs and Border Protection agency, citing the investigation, insisting it use the Tariff Act and the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act to stop seafood from China entering the US. The letter also demanded that the agency provide documents detailing the steps they have taken to stop import of such seafood.
Sources: U.S. Congress, Undercurrent News - Policy
Two U.S. lawmakers wrote the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, citing the investigation, insisting the Seafood Import Monitoring Program is expanded to all imported seafood to protect U.S. consumers from seafood tied to illegal fishing and abusive labor practices.
Sources: U.S. Congress, Undercurrent News - Policy
Louisa Greve, director of Global Advocacy at the Uyghur Human Rights Project, cited the investigation in her testimony during a Committee on Homeland Security hearing as evidence that the seafood industry should be added to the list of “targeted sectors” under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
- Statement
China's seafood association said the investigation was “fabricated” and added that the use of labor from Xinjiang in seafood processing plants does not constitute forced labor because they are paid wages. Undercurrent News pointed out how U.S. law sees it differently.
Source: Undercurrent News - Legislation
Pierre Karleskind, Caroline Roose, Barry Andrews, and Izaskun Bilbao, a group of European lawmakers, cited the investigation as they passed a resolution urging China to be more transparent about its fishing fleet, especially on illegal fishing and human rights issues.
- Legislation
Barry Andrews, an Irish lawmaker, said that legislation moving through the European Parliament is necessary to stop illegal fishing and human rights abuses in the seafood industry, as highlighted in the investigation. This legislation was approved on Oct. 17th.
- Legislation
Samira Rafaela, a Netherlands lawmaker, cited the investigation to support a draft regulation on forced labor that was approved October 16, 2023.
- Termination
Seafood Connection, a Dutch subsidiary of the world's largest seafood company, Maruha Nichiro, stopped working with two of its Chinese seafood suppliers in response to the investigation.
Source: RTL NieuwsRead our discussions with Seafood Connection, Shandong Haidu Ocean Product, Zhejiang Industrial Group.
- Investigations
A major European supermarket chain, Albert Heijn, announced plans to review its potential exposure to forced Uyghur labor, based on the investigation's findings.
Source: RTL NieuwsRead our discussions with Albert Heijn (AH), Yantai Sanko Fisheries.
- Statement
Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers called for “swift action” from authorities in response to the investigation's findings. “The horrific & blatant human rights violations catalogued in the important article ... do not represent the practices of our members,” the association said.
Source: Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers - Statement
SeaBOS, a group of large seafood companies, cited the investigation and said the findings of forced labor are “disappointing.” World Benchmarking Alliance, which helps companies achieve SDGs, called for the industry to improve human rights tracking and traceability.
Source: Undercurrent News - Termination
Lund’s Fisheries, a large U.S. seafood company, severed ties with Rongcheng Haibo Seafood, a Chinese processing plant identified as using forced labor.
Sources: SeafoodSource, Lund’s Press ReleaseRead our discussions with Lund's Fisheries, Rongcheng Haibo Seafood.
- Termination
Pacific American Fishing Company, a large U.S. seafood company, terminated their relationship with Shandong Haidu Ocean Product and Rongcheng Haibo Seafood, two plants identified as using forced labor.
Source: SeafoodSourceRead our discussions with Pacific American Fish Co. (PAFCO), Shandong Haidu Ocean Product, Rongcheng Haibo Seafood.
- Termination
Weee!, America's largest online Asian supermarket, terminated their relationship with Shandong Haidu Ocean Product and Rongcheng Haibo Seafood, two large seafood processing plants in China identified in the investigation as using forced labor.
Source: SeafoodSourceRead our discussions with Weee!, Shandong Haidu Ocean Product, Rongcheng Haibo Seafood.
- Op-Ed
Kenneth Roth, former head of Human Rights Watch, wrote an op-ed in the Guardian about the investigation and calling on Europe to better handle Uyghur forced labor in its seafood imports.
Source: The Guardian - Hearing
The Congressional-Executive Commission on China announced a Congressional Hearing, scheduled for October 24th, at which The Outlaw Ocean Project will provide testimony on forced labor on China’s fishing ships and in seafood processing plants and the exposure of the U.S. Government and American consumers to these crimes.
Source: Congressional-Executive Commission on China - Policy
Human Rights at Sea, an advocacy organization, reviewed the investigation and called for broader reforms in seafood oversight.
Source: Human Rights at Sea - Op-Ed
An Irish lawmaker published an op-ed in the Irish Sun calling for stricter forced labor laws based partly on The Outlaw Ocean Project's investigation.
Source: The Irish Sun - Op-Ed
IntraFish published an op-ed from Joe Bundrant, the CEO of major US seafood company Trident Seafoods, saying our findings sent “shock waves” and calling on the entire industry to “step up to a uniform standard of supply chain integrity.”
Source: IntraFish - Termination
Cité Marine, owned by the second biggest seafood company in the world, dropped Qingdao Tianyuan, a Chinese processing plant identified as using forced labor.
Source: SeafoodSourceRead our discussions with Cité Marine, Qingdao Tianyuan.
- Termination
High Liner Foods, one of North America's biggest seafood suppliers, dropped Yantai Sanko, a processing plant in China tied to forced labor.
Source: Undercurrent NewsRead our discussions with High Liner Foods, Yantai Sanko Fisheries.
- Statement
The Aquaculture Stewardship Council, an accreditation organization, issued a statement saying it takes the investigation's revelations “very seriously” and that they welcome scrutiny of the global supply chains.
Source: Undercurrent NewsRead our discussions with Aquaculture Stewardship Council.
- Op-Ed
Kristen Abrams, senior director of the McCain Institute, published an op-ed in USA Today about the investigation and the problem of trafficked labor.
Source: USA Today - Policy
Stephanie Madsen, of the At-Sea Processors Association, called for industry reforms including uniform import controls, enforcement of the US law tied to Uyghur forced labor, transparent labeling, and more in response to the investigation.
Source: Medium - Policy
U.S. lawmakers offered their impressions of the investigation and called for tighter controls, better enforcement and a suspension of seafood imports tied to forced labor.
Source: Semafor - Statement
Barry Andrews, an Irish lawmaker, said that, in light of The Outlaw Ocean Project's investigation, the Forced Labour Regulation, being considered by the E.U. parliament, needs to be strengthened to stop the entry of seafood tainted by forced labor into Europe.
Source: Barry Andrews - Policy
Celeste Leroux, from seafood trade compliance firm Goldfish, responded to the investigation by suggesting better screening by NOAA and others for seafood tainted by forced labor coming into the U.S.
Source: Goldfish - Resignation
The CEO of High Liner Foods, one of North America's biggest seafood suppliers, resigned after the investigation identified at least two of its factories using forced labor. The resignation came shortly after the High Liner and its American customers were alerted of these findings.
Source: High Liner FoodsRead our discussions with High Liner Foods.
- Termination
Albertsons, the second largest grocery chain in the U.S., dropped certain products from High Liner Foods, one of North America's biggest seafood suppliers, identified in the investigation as using forced labor. The move applied to all its brands across the U.S., including Acme Markets, Albertsons, Safeway and Shaw's.
Sources: Undercurrent News, IntraFishRead our discussions with Albertsons, High Liner Foods.
- Termination
Nichirei, a seafood company from Japan, dropped Dandong Yuanyi, a Chinese processing plant identified by the investigation as using forced labor.
Source: SeafoodSourceRead our discussions with Nichirei Seafoods, Dandong Yuanyi Seafood Refined Products.