Correspondence
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed the media contact for Bumble Bee Foods.
The email said: "We’re contacting Bumble Bee Foods regarding our research on the practice of ‘flagging in’, whereby fishing vessels owned by companies in one country are flagged to another country in order to access that second country’s waters. We are not indicating explicitly or implicitly that flagging-in is illegal, we are just taking a look at the issue of flagging-in globally.
Trade records show that Bumble Bee Foods was the consignee for multiple shipments of tuna in 2019 from Zhejiang Ocean Family, a large Chinese seafood company which owns dozens of fishing vessels flagged to Kiribati and Argentina.
Ships owned by the Zhejiang Ocean Family have been linked to labor abuses, crew deaths and crew illness. When contacted for comment, Zhejiang Ocean Family said it had conducted two investigations into the allegations and found no evidence of the alleged abuse or mistreatment. Zhejiang Ocean Family also said that its Argentine- and Kiribati-flagged vessels are registered locally through a wholly-owned company registered and established in Argentina and a joint venture registered and established in Kiribati, respectively, and are not ‘flagged-in’ vessels.
While we appreciate that Bumble Bee Foods may not be aware of any of the above, we wish to ask if the company has any comment to make in response to anything contained in this email? Please let us know by close of business on July 19, 2024, noting that all interactions remain on the record."
The press team for Bumble Bee Foods replied: "I am responding to your inquiry on behalf of Bumble Bee Seafoods, as follows: Bumble Bee Seafoods has ceased sourcing from ZOF vessels. Our company enforces a strict policy against the acceptance of any seafood products originating from IUU fishing or forced labor. Thank you for the email."
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied: "Thanks so much for the quick response to our query. Could you please clarify when the supply relationship between Bumble Bee Seafoods and Zhejiang Ocean Family ceased?"
The press team for Bumble Bee Foods replied: "Bumble Bee will not be commenting further on this topic. Thank you."