“The food was in very poor condition and I could only drink seawater that had been filtered. I had no other choice, it was never properly clean,” recalled Fredi Seprizal, an Indonesian who endured what he describes as “modern slavery” at sea and who spoke during the debate ‘Boosting the social dimension of sustainable fisheries’, held last week in the European Parliament.
Seprizal’s was one of the most striking testimonies at the meeting, which took place on 30 September and was organised by Carmen Crespo (EPP), chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries (PECH), and Virginia Battu-Henriksson, a member of the cabinet of the Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, Costas Kadis.
The sailor told MEPs about the conditions he endured for 16 months on board a Chinese vessel. He explained that he worked between 16 and 20 hours a day and, at times, for 24 hours straight, with rest periods of between three and six hours. Seprizal also denounced the lack of adequate safety equipment and said he feared for his life while he was on the high seas.
The aim of the meeting was to examine fishermen’s working conditions and the fight against forced labour. Survivors of labour exploitation, international organisations, trade union representatives and members of the fisheries sector came together to call for stronger guarantees for those working in the industry.
“Europe cannot compete by lowering its standards, but by turning them into its greatest asset,” said Crespo, stressing that the European fleet must maintain its requirements on sustainability, safety and labour rights. “Defending a competitive fishing sector also means defending its workers against unfair competition and ensuring supply chains that are transparent, responsible and free from exploitation.”
The need for “effective protection”
The experiences shared during the meeting, according to a statement (source in Spanish) by the Organisation of Associated Producers of Large Frozen Tuna Vessels (OPAGAC), are in line with the findings of a study presented by Sallie Yea, professor and researcher at Charles Sturt University, based on interviews with 121 fishers and 32 family members from the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia and Fiji.
According to her research, 94% of the fishers interviewed had at some point suffered non-payment of their wages, and all of them had seen their contracts changed to less favourable conditions.
In addition, one in every four fishers interviewed had witnessed the death of a fellow crew member, while deaths were recorded on one in every four vessels analysed.
“We need to move from purely formal compliance to the effective protection of labour rights, including checks on contracts and wages, arbitration mechanisms to resolve labour complaints, protection against reprisals and accountability mechanisms for recruitment agencies, and not only for fishing fleets and seafood companies,” Yea argued at the meeting.
During the Fisheries Committee’s round table, representatives from the International Labour Organization (ILO), the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) and Oxfam called for stricter enforcement of labour standards.
Economist Tariq Haq, from the ILO, recalled that the Work in Fishing Convention lays down the minimum requirements for working on board, but has been ratified by only 27 member states.
The EU also has a regulation (source in Spanish) on forced labour, which will be phased in until December 2027. For OPAGAC, which promoted the meeting together with Hands for the Oceans, access to the European market should be made conditional on compliance with the same standards that apply to the European fleet.
“We hope that the EU rules on due diligence and forced labour can become a turning point,” said Julio Morón, director-general of OPAGAC, to ensure that European consumers do not eat fish caught using forced labour and modern slavery.
In that context, Seprizal’s words still resonate. During the debate he went so far as to say: “The thought of jumping off the ship or setting it on fire crossed my mind; but I could not escape because the captain kept hold of my documents. I even had to pay to get them back.”