"We ate rice, most of the time. Food stock usually only lasted for a month. After that,
we would just eat anything available. Sometimes we crossed paths with another fishing vessel and asked the captain from the other ship to share their food," Firman said.
Firman (not his real name) is an Indonesian migrant fisher. In Greenpeace Southeast Asia's latest report, Firman explained about the harsh living and working conditions he experienced while he was working on an industrial fishing vessel, despite the fact that he caught tuna for the USD $350 billion seafood industry. Firman and many other fishers work-in what is considered as one of the most deadly occupations-not only to feed their own family, but also families across the world who consume canned tuna.
The issues of human rights abuses and environmental destruction are two sides of the same coin. On vessels where workers are subject to forced labor conditions, there are often overlapping illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities. Activities which include fishing in marine protected areas or of restricted species, using destructive fishing gear, and overfishing.
Realities behind the industrial fishing that persist, even after decades of campaigning, have left us with questions: Why is this still the case? How can we make the fishing industry live up to their promises of responsible sourcing? Is fair, just, and sustainable fisheries possible?
Join us for a webinar to discuss these questions! This webinar is a virtual side event for the UN Ocean Conference 2025. Together we will push for a systemic change in industrial fishing for the future of our ocean.
