Correspondence
Email sent to Cal Ranch's contact address.
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.
Cal Ranch has received shipments of squid from a Chinese processor called Rongcheng Xinhui Aquatic Products Co. Ltd. We have visual evidence of the company receiving squid catch from a Chinese squid jigger called the Zhen Fa 7. In a seven-month period, one Zhen Fa 7 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 also 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.
Does Cal Ranch have any comment to make on the record in light of the above information?
Please respond to this email by close of business March 27, 2023."