Correspondence
Email sent to Erin Rolfes, Director of Media Relations/Corporate Communications at Kroger. January 17, 2023: A letter with the same text as the email dated January 10 was sent by certified mail.
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 processing plants, Shandong Haidu Ocean Product Co. Ltd., exports squid to Rhee Bros Inc. Rhee Bros then sells frozen squid for retail in the US under its brand Wild Sea, which is listed on Kroger’s website.
Does The Kroger Company have any comment or statement to make on the record in response to the information contained in this letter?"
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed Erin Rolfes, Director of Media Relations/Corporate Communications at Kroger: "I’m reaching out to you again in light of further connections our investigation has found between The Kroger company’s supply chain and abuses in the Chinese squid fishing industry.
In addition to the issues raised in my previous email regarding the Chishan Group, we have discovered that another vessel under Chishan ownership was reported for fishing illegally in Indonesian waters in 2020. As mentioned previously, Chishan processor Shandong Haidu exports squid to Rhee Bros Inc., whose Wild Sea brand of frozen squid is sold through Kroger.
The Kroger Family of Companies’ Seafood Sustainability Policy says: “As a basic practice, Kroger will never knowingly purchase illegally caught seafood, which includes sourcing from IUU (illegal, unregulated, or unreported) fisheries.”
In light of that policy and the information above, does Kroger have any response to make on the record? Please reply to this email by end of day March 10, 2023."
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed Erin Rolfes, Director of Media Relations/Corporate Communications at Kroger: "I contacted you earlier this year regarding The Outlaw Ocean Project’s investigation into abuses in the Chinese squid fishing industry, as it related to your supply chain. I am contacting you again in light of new findings made as part of our ongoing reporting on human rights and environmental issues connected with the world’s oceans.
Further to my previous correspondence, we have uncovered a link between a company engaged in the use of Uyghur forced labor in seafood processing and a supplier in your supply chain. Yantai Sanko Fisheries Co. Ltd., which supplies white fish products to High Liner Foods Inc., 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 programs which use coercive methods in worker enrollment. The U.S. has prohibited the importation of goods produced from state-imposed forced labor.
Kroger stocks High Liner white fish products. Does Kroger have any comment or statement to make in response to the above information? Please reply to this email by close of business June 27, 2023."
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed Erin Rolfes, Director of Media Relations/Corporate Communications at Kroger: "I contacted you earlier this year regarding The Outlaw Ocean Project’s investigation into abuses in the Chinese fishing and seafood processing industries, as they relate to the supply chain of Kroger.
Our investigation continues to surface additional questions in relation to your company’s supply chain, specifically High Liner Foods, In addition to the supplier Yantai Sanko mentioned in our emails dated June 23, 2023, High Liner Foods has also imported shipments of yellowfin sole from Yantai Longwin Foods Co. Ltd. Yantai Longwin is linked to Yantai Sanko through corporate ownership. Our investigation has also found Uyghurs working at Yantai Longwin, since August 2020 and until as recently as March 2023.
High Liner has imported shipments of cod, pollock, haddock, yellowfin sole, ocean perch and flounder from Yantai Sanko Fisheries Co. Ltd. Our investigation demonstrates the presence of Uyghur workers at Yantai Sanko from as early as 2019 and as recently as April 2023. High Liner white fish products are stocked at Kroger stores nationwide.
Could you confirm whether white fish sourced from Yantai Sanko or Yantai Longwin has been used in any white fish products supplied by High Liner and sold by Kroger since 2019? Please reply to this email by close of business August 31, 2023."
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed Erin Rolfes, Director of Media Relations and Corporate Communications at Kroger: "Trade records seen by The Outlaw Ocean Project show that, between 2019 and 2022, Premier Marine Canada was the consignee for at least seven shipments of seafood from processors in China that have received people from the Xinjiang region of China under a state imposed labor transfer program. The processors, Rizhao Meijia Aquatic and Rizhao Jiayuan, are both owned by the Meijia Group. The Meijia Group has received persons from the Xinjiang region of China under a state-imposed labor transfer program since 2019 and until as recently as May 2023. We have uncovered evidence of Uyghur workers in Rizhao Jiayuan in 2019. Trade records also show that Premier Marine Canada was the consignee for seafood from Yantai Sanko Fisheries in 2019, a processor referenced in our previous correspondence with you regarding the use of Uyghur forced labor. According to Premier Marine Canada’s official website, Premier Marine is a private label partner of your company. While we recognize that you may not be aware of this problem, we wish to ask you: Can you confirm or deny if any seafood from Rizhao Meijia Aquatic, Rizhao Jiayuan or Yantai Sanko Fisheries has been used in any products sold by your company since 2019? Does Costco Wholesale have any comment or clarification to make in response to the above information?"