Correspondence
Email sent to the marketing team at Delfin Ultracongelados.
The email said: "I’m contacting you in light of our latest investigation which concerns the use of forced labor in China’s seafood processing industry, and a link we’ve discovered between companies engaged in such practices and suppliers in your supply chain.
Delfin Ultracongelados is supplied by companies in the Chishan Group, namely Shandong Haidu and Rongcheng Jinyuan. The Chishan Group has received persons from the Xinjiang region of China under a state-imposed labor transfer program. The United Nations, human rights organizations and academic experts agree that since 2018, the Chinese government has systematically subjected Xinjiang’s predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities to forced labor across the country via state-sanctioned employment schemes which use coercive methods in worker enrollment. The U.S. has prohibited the importation of goods produced from state-imposed forced labor.
Fishing vessels owned by the Chishan Group have also been observed fishing in North Korean waters in contravention of UN sanctions and fishing illegally in Indonesian waters. The group also owns at least two reefer vessels which have transshipped with dozens of fishing ships tied to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing as well as human rights abuses.
Does Delfin Ultracongelados have any comment or clarification to make regarding the above information? Please respond to this email by close of business on August 25, 2023."
The media team at Grupo Delfin, the parent company of Delfin Congelados, replied: "We appreciate your email received. We inform you that although in the past we have made purchases from the aforementioned factories, we were unaware of the information given by you since they were made through a broker; we haven´t bought from them for three years. Going forward, we will not make any purchases from these plants and will be more cautious before closing any purchase commitments with others. However, we inform you of the commitment of Delfín Ultracongelados, in terms of human rights and environmental policy signed in our Compliance, as well as in our code of ethics."
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied: "Thank you for your response. Our trade records indicate that the most recent shipment from Rongcheng Jinyuan to Delfín was in July 2022. Could you confirm if this is indeed the case?
Additionally, has Delfín ever supplied Distribuciones Rodrigo with products imported from either Shandong Haidu or Rongcheng Jinyuan? Please let us know by close of business August 31, 2023, noting that all exchanges are fully on record."
The media team at Delfin replied: "We have checked in our files and we maintain the information we gave you in our email dated August 25. Please verify your information. Distribuciones Rodrigo is our client for years and the last sale of these products was in January 2019."
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed: "The trade records we've acquired indicate three squid shipments after 2019 from Rongcheng Jinyuan, on July 29, 2022, on September 21, 2021, and on May 19, 2020. We also note that Delfín has imported nine shipments of seafood, or approximately 400 tonnes, from Dalian Rich Enterprises; may we ask what type of seafood was imported from this company?"
Email sent to two contact addresses at Delfin Ultracongelados, saying: "We were in contact with you in August and September 2023 regarding our ongoing investigation into abuses in China’s squid fishing and seafood processing industry. We are emailing you now with additional findings, as they relate to your supply chain.
According to trade records seen by The Outlaw Ocean Project, Delfin Ultracongelados S.A. was the consignee for multiple shipments of seafood from Dandong Hailong Foodstuff since December 2019. We have uncovered evidence that Donggang Hailong has used North Korean labor after the December 2019 deadline for the repatriation of overseas North Korean workers required under United Nations Security Council sanctions. This evidence shows North Korean labor at Dandong Hailong’s plant in Liaoning, China, as recently as 2023.
While we understand that you may not be aware of the above issues, we want to ask if Delfin Ultracongelados S.A. has any comment to make in response to this, or our previous, email?"