On Taiwanese ships, Indonesian workers abused, illegal fishing reported: NGO

A London-based NGO has published accounts of human rights abuses suffered by Indonesian workers, as well as illegal fishing, aboard Taiwanese vessels - which make up one of the world's largest distant-water fishing fleets.

The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), which says it has been investigating the activities of Taiwan's fishing fleet since 2016, last month released a report based on interviews with 71 Indonesian crew members from 62 vessels that were conducted from August 2018 to November 2019.

Fishermen from 92 per cent of the vessels surveyed had their wages withheld for months, while on 82 per cent of the ships, crew reported excessive overtime during which they had to work "up to 20 hours per day with very little time to rest". Workers from 24 per cent of vessels experienced physical abuse.

"I felt very stiff and found it difficult to breathe," Supri said, as quoted in the report. "Finally the door was opened and I heard the captain say to the rest of the crew: 'If he dies just say that he died in an accident and then we will throw his body into the sea.'"

Supri said he had received "frequent incidents of physical abuse ... as punishment". In his case, the report pointed out that he "knew he could not fight back for fear of being murdered by the captain".

Indonesian workers from 24 per cent of vessels investigated by the EJF experienced physical abuse. Photo: Handout/Environmental Justice Foundation alt=Indonesian workers from 24 per cent of vessels investigated by the EJF experienced physical abuse. Photo: Handout/Environmental Justice Foundation

Supri also claimed the captain used a high-pressure water hose to aim a stream of water at his face that hit his eyes, causing him "extreme pain" for what the fisherman described as a "small mistake". He also said the captain ordered another crew member to electrocute him with a metal pole wired to a car battery, which the report described as a device commonly used to stun fish as they were brought on board fishing vessels.

"The human rights abuses described by the victim are some of the worst that EJF has documented in the Taiwanese fleet," the non-governmental organisation said.

A report from the Washington-based Stimson Centre think tank, published last year, found that vessels from China and Taiwan represented about 60 per cent of all distant-water fishing fleets between 2015 and 2017.

Environmental advocacy group Greenpeace in March this year said there were more than 1,100 Taiwan-flagged vessels across the world's oceans, with hundreds more Taiwan-owned vessels carrying other national flags. Greenpeace's report said Taiwanese vessels and companies were among the worst offenders when it came to human rights abuses in fisheries.

In recent months, stories of death and abuse experienced by Indonesian fishermen working on China-flagged vessels have also emerged. According to activist group Destructive Fishing Watch Indonesia, 11 Indonesians died on Chinese ships from November 2019 to last month, while two other fishermen have gone missing.

Susan Herawati, secretary general of the Jakarta-based NGO People's Coalition for Fisheries Justice, said the violence experienced by Indonesian fishermen aboard vessels related to Taiwan and China was the worst when compared with other countries, adding that her organisation received the most complaints regarding ill treatment on Chinese and Taiwanese ships.

Crew from 50 per cent of investigated vessels said shark finning was taking place aboard them. Photo: Handout/Environmental Justice Foundation alt=Crew from 50 per cent of investigated vessels said shark finning was taking place aboard them. Photo: Handout/Environmental Justice Foundation

However, these are not the only vessels on which such abuses occur. Moh Abdi Suhufan, Destructive Fishing Watch Indonesia's national coordinator, said there were also Indonesians who worked without a seafarer employment agreement and insurance on Indonesian vessels, while the recruitment system was "not transparent" and had an "unfair wage system".

"The majority of the wages of Indonesian fishing vessels use a profit-sharing system, not a monthly salary, so that the wages earned are based on the catch with an unfair distribution," he said.

According to Taiwan's Fisheries Agency, there were about 35,000 migrant fishermen working aboard Taiwan-flagged vessels as of June 2019. More than 60 per cent of these workers were recruited overseas.

The EJF presented its report to the authority in June, a month before it was published, following which the Fisheries Agency said it had launched investigations into illegal fishing and human rights abuse cases.

The EJF also reported that Taiwanese vessels were engaging in illegal fishing, citing crew from 50 per cent of investigated vessels who said shark finning was taking place. Taiwan's law requires the fins and bodies of sharks to be kept in the same shipment until it arrives at a port.

The report also found that 13 per cent of vessels had intentionally caught and killed dolphins, while 11 per cent of ships decapitated false killer whales, a species of dolphin.

Taiwan's government should "implement electronic monitoring systems for Taiwanese fishing vessels including remote sensors, cameras and the ability for crew to communicate with the outside world to raise any concerns", the report said.

The EJF also asked Taipei to abolish the overseas recruitment system, and require all migrant workers on fishing vessels to be recruited through Taiwan under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Labour.

"Due to the global nature of Taiwan's fleet, this will require cross-governmental and international cooperation," it said in the report.

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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