Correspondence
Email sent to the director of media and community relations at Bloomin' Brands, owner of Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar.
The email said: "I’m writing to you in light of our latest investigation, which concerns abuses in the Chinese squid fishing industry, and a link we’ve discovered between companies engaged in abuses and your supply chain.
This link concerns a Chinese squid jigger owned by the Chinese fishery company, Rongcheng Wangdao Ocean Aquatic Products. In a seven-month period, one crew member died and a second was disembarked for emergency medical treatment after suffering serious mistreatment and abuse while on board the vessel. Our reporting documents multiple indicators of forced labor among crew onboard the vessel: recruitment linked to debt, deceptive recruitment, enforced isolation, degrading living conditions, physical violence, wage withholding, the retention of personal identity documents and strong financial penalties for leaving employment.
We have traced squid caught by that vessel to a large Chinese fisheries company in Shandong province called the Chishan Group. Further to its connections to the vessel, ships owned by the Chishan Group were found fishing in North Korean waters in violation of UN sanctions in 2017 and 2018. One of Chishan’s key processing plants, Rongcheng Haibo Seafood Co. Ltd., supplies squid to Lund’s Fisheries, while a second big Chishan Group squid processor, Shandong Haidu Ocean Product Co. Ltd., supplies US importer The Town Dock. Three Chishan Group squid processors supply another US importer, Ruggiero Seafood. In turn, these three US importers all supply Performance Food Service, which supplies Fleming’s, Bonefish Grill, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, and Outback Steakhouse.
Does Bloomin’ Brands have any comment or statement to make on the record in response to this information?"
Bloomin' Brands replied by email, saying: "We take the issues of human rights issues very seriously. We have confirmed that we have no affiliation with these companies and do not source any product from the brokers you have mentioned in your inquiry."
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied: "Thanks very much for your quick response to my email, I really appreciate it. We understood that Performance Food was one of your seafood suppliers, is that still the case or are we mistaken on that point?"