Correspondence
Email sent to the contact address for the Shidao Group.
The email said: "I’m writing to you in light of our latest investigation, which concerns the Chinese squid fishing industry, and a link we’ve discovered between abuses in that industry and in the supply chain of companies ultimately controlled by you.
This link concerns a Chinese squid jigger owned by Rongcheng Wangdao Ocean Aquatic Products. In a seven-month period between August 2020 and March 2021, 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 also documents multiple indicators of forced labor among crew onboard that 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.
Squid caught by the vessel has been transshipped to one of your refrigerated ships, the Lu Rong Yuan Yu Yun 177. Our investigation has also found that the vessel transhipped with dozens of other squid vessels that are connected to instances of forced labor, violence, illegal fishing, and crew neglect.
Does the Shidao Group believe it has any duty to vet its partners and move away from bad actor ships that engage in these sorts of behaviors?
Does the Shidao Group have any comment or statement to make on the above information? Please reply to this email by close of business on July 19, 2023."
The Shidao Group replied: "Our company’s Lu Rong Yuan Yu Yun 177 is a legal fishing vessel registered with SPRFMO. Investigations on our company’s partners are carried out by the fishery administration department. All our transshipment activities are carried out after we have submitted a declaration in advance on the website of the fishery administration department and obtained approval. Regarding fishing vessels that have been reported by the fishery administration department as having violated regulations, we are resolute about not conducting transshipment with them. For vessels about which the fishery administration department has not made a report or raised any suspicions, we recognise them as legal vessels and conduct transshipment with them. In future, we will increase communication and inquiries with the fishery administration department, continue to strictly abide by the bottom lines of laws and industry rules, and will not conduct transshipment with problematic fishing vessels."