Thank you, Greg Hermsmeyer, for that kind introduction. This event would not have happened without your leadership and USAID is grateful for our collaboration together.   

Thank you to the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons for hosting this event and inviting me to participate.  

It is an honor to speak alongside the Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, Susan Coppedge, as well as Kate Hodal, Southeast Asia correspondent for The Guardian, on the critical topic of countering human trafficking in the seafood industry.

This discussion comes at a critical moment. President Obama has made far-reaching commitments to conserve our oceans for future generations. It is exciting that we will be announcing new major commitments to address Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing in the coming days.

And, as Secretary Kerry said at the release of the Trafficking in Persons report in June, modern slavery is interlinked with IUU fishing.

When criminals exploit human beings to pursue profits in the global seafood market, they also disregard the environment in the process, damaging fisheries and destroying ecosystems. That is why at USAID, we strongly believe that we must look at these enormous challenges in an integrated way–working both to improve the sustainability of our oceans and increase respect for the rights and dignity of the people working in this industry around the world.

While I know this audience is familiar with the problem of IUU fishing, I’d like to begin my remarks with an explanation of USAID’s role in conserving ocean biodiversity and explain why we need to understand IUU fishing in a broader context.

It is not enough to merely stop criminal behavior; we also need to promote dignity, human rights and sustainable livelihoods.

I will close with some examples of how USAID is partnering with civil society and other stakeholders to counter illegality in fishing and explain how we are using technology and innovation to end human trafficking in Asia.

The Importance of Sustainable Fishing

Fisheries products are among the world’s most widely traded foods, supporting a $500 billion global economy. Fish and shellfish exports from developing countries exceed the value of rice, coffee, rubber, cocoa, tea, tobacco and meat combined. 2.6 billion people in developing countries rely on fish for more than 20 percent of their animal protein.

The waters off Southeast Asia alone provide a source of food and income to over 200 million people and also support a major seafood export trade to the United States, Europe, Japan and China. Home to one-third of the world’s coral reefs and expansive areas of mangroves and seagrasses, Southeast Asia is a global hub of marine biodiversity. This natural capital also supports a thriving tourism industry, building awareness and appreciation for the region’s natural beauty.

When IUU fishing damages marine habitats and fisheries, it deprives law-abiding fishers of income, food security and jeopardizes the livelihoods of fishing families by making them more vulnerable to exploitation. It also robs developing countries of income that could be invested in efforts to improve lives.

Globally, illegal and unreported fishing are estimated to account for catch worth $10 to $24 billion annually, which is equivalent to about 20 percent of the global reported fish catch. The fishing industry is estimated to legally employ over 30 million fishers who work aboard 4 million fishing vessels.

Forced Labor/Human Trafficking

Trafficking in Persons (TIP) is a global development challenge that undermines human rights, breaks down the rule of law and corrupts global commerce. As this audience is well aware, human rights abuses have been extensively documented in the seafood sector, as noted by Kate Hodal and The Guardian. 

An estimated 21 million people are trapped in modern slavery, with over half of this number in Asia. Trafficked persons often begin their journey as migrants looking for better opportunities.

There are many reasons why people move across and within borders, including push factors like limited economic development, environmental degradation that erodes the natural resources on which people depend for food and livelihoods, and armed conflict.

The lack of safe migration routes coupled with nefarious labor recruitment schemes, exclusion from legal protection and social services once in the destination country, and collusion between authorities and traffickers, all undermine the rights of migrant workers and enhance vulnerability to human trafficking.

Human Trafficking in the Seafood Sector

Human trafficking and the related criminal acts associated with IUU fishing plague thousands of individuals and threaten livelihoods across the region. IUU fishing–estimated to include thousands of crews–endangers lives and the environment by cutting corners on ship maintenance, crew safety and sanitary conditions.

Crews on IUU fishing vessels work under conditions consistent with the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) definition of forced labor and are subject to egregious human rights abuses, including excessive working hours (up to 18-20 hours per day), physical abuse, lack of food and water, coerced indebtedness, abandonment in remote locations and, in some instances, murder.

Last summer, we saw heartbreaking and graphic examples of not addressing these challenges when upwards of 5,000 migrants were abandoned in unseaworthy vessels by smugglers in the Andaman Sea and the subsequent discovery of mass graves near smuggling camps in Malaysia.

USAID’s Response

USAID has been combating human trafficking, and more recently IUU fishing, for many years.

We currently implement counter-trafficking in persons programs in Bangladesh, Cambodia and Nepal, as well as through regional partnerships with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

We are currently supporting ASEAN member states to implement their obligations under the ASEAN Convention Against Trafficking in Persons, a regional agreement that is consistent with the UN Palermo Protocol on Human Trafficking.

It is exciting that, during President Obama’s recent trip to Laos for the ASEAN Summit, USAID launched a new, five-year activity aimed at reducing the number of trafficked persons.

It is essential that balance our efforts on the law enforcement side with efforts to address the root causes of trafficking while increasing prevention and victim protection services.

It is essential that we pursue a regional approach as these issues are interwoven between source, transit and destination countries.  We also hope to strengthen the capacity of ASEAN and member governments to ensure well-coordinated and sustainable efforts.

It is also essential that there is a robust private sector component in order to leverage additional resources but also to be effective in eliminating slave labor in market chains.

This new activity builds on our current work in the region.

First, through our Supply Unchained initiative, we are engaging with civil society, the private sector, international organizations, private foundation donors and other stakeholders to identify and prevent human trafficking and forced labor in the seafood industry.

Second, USAID’s Oceans and Fisheries Partnership supports the development of a transparent and financially sustainable catch documentation and traceability system to help ensure that seafood and related products are legally caught and properly labeled.

As Secretary Kerry said last year, “Traceability is an essential part of our global fight to conserve marine resources and protect the health of our oceans.”

We are currently piloting this system in Indonesia and the Philippines. We are partnering with the National Police-Maritime Group in the Philippines to implement an anonymous SMS hotline that allows local communities to report illegal fishing.

Third, as part of USAID’s overall assistance to the six-nation Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security–which includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor Leste–USAID supported the development and use of a mobile phone app in inshore fisheries.  

Overall, I want to emphasize two key points:

First, an integrated approach is the best way to counter human trafficking in the seafood industry.

Human rights abuses and illegal harvesting practices in fisheries have overlapping causes and solutions. This convergence highlights the benefits of an integrated approach–our interventions to eliminate human trafficking and IUU fishing are more effective when we view these issues through the same lens.

USAID recognizes and applauds the work of the Indonesian IUU Fishing Task Force in its efforts to embed fisheries governance within a broader perspective of human rights. This approach enhances the chances of achieving both human development and resource sustainability outcomes in fisheries. USAID is also pleased to be partnering with the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries to realize these goals.

We are better able to identify both illegal labor and harvesting practices when seafood supply chains are transparent. Indeed, improving transparency is a core component of our efforts.

Increased transparency in the supply chain helps us design more efficient interventions to reduce human rights abuses, conserve fisheries and identify and target criminal networks.

We know that strong fisheries management helps sustain fisheries resources and provide decent livelihoods for fishers.

For example, working with fishers to replace destructive gears with more ecologically sound approaches, the ECOFISH project in the Philippines resulted in a 10 percent increase in fish abundance over an area the size of Delaware compared to unmanaged areas.

We also helped establish registration and licensing schemes in the municipal fisheries sector in the Philippines to act as a key deterrent to IUU fishing–1.6 million municipal fishers have registered.

Currently, weak fisheries management has resulted in stock depletions and sector instability. In some cases, this has led small-scale fishers to join the crew of larger vessels, leaving them more vulnerable to trafficking. In other cases, depletion has pushed fishing vessels farther offshore, increasing fisher isolation and vulnerability to labor exploitation and abuse.

As forced labor drives over-fishing and creates economic disadvantages for companies and fishing families that play by the rules, reducing forced labor in fisheries will strengthen fisheries management and contribute to improved food security, stronger livelihoods and biodiversity conservation.

The second point I would like to emphasize is that innovative technologies are changing the way we identify, prevent and respond to illegal fishing and human trafficking.

USAID is partnering with the private sector, civil society, other donors and national governments to counter illegal fishing through two strategic approaches:

• Using electronic monitoring and traceability to reduce worker isolation and vulnerability, enhance safety, and detect illegally harvested seafood; and

• Collecting data more efficiently to better detect illegality at sea. 

USAID is advancing the use of electronic monitoring and traceability to counter illegal fishing and human trafficking through two programs: the Oceans and Fisheries Partnership and Supply Unchained.

As I mentioned earlier, the Oceans and Fisheries Partnership (USAID Oceans) supports the development of a transparent and financially sustainable electronic catch documentation and traceability system.

While this partnership focuses on fisheries, we are collaborating with leading experts on labor issues to incorporate labor concerns into our efforts to expand traceability in seafood production and distribution.

The electronic Catch Documentation Traceability (CDT) system will encourage the collection, sharing and analysis of verifiable ecological, economic and social data related to seafood products as they move through the supply chain from point‐of-harvest to seafood importer retail.

This will significantly limit the market for illegal fish and reduce revenues to illegal operators, while strengthening market access for harvesters who operate legally.

The traceability system will be used by all players in the seafood supply chain, including fishers, processors, exporters, importers, buyers and governments.

 Electronic monitoring creates a “communications hub” on vessels, increasing internet access at sea and better safeguarding workers’ lives and rights.

This enhanced communication ability reduces the isolation of workers on fishing vessels, providing them with increased access to grievance reporting and increasing awareness about the working conditions on different vessels.

Through our “Supply Unchained” initiative, we are supporting innovative data-gathering techniques and forging new partnerships that will allow us to better detect and intervene in cases of human trafficking.

Specifically, Supply Unchained enables the collection of new data, particularly real-time information about worker conditions aboard fishing vessels, and utilizes data to facilitate interventions at key points along the supply chains of global brands and seafood importers.

As you heard from Dr. Rende-Taylor of the Issara Institute during the first panel discussion, the Issara Institute is piloting the use of new technologies to reach workers in this sector.

It is my pleasure to announce the most recent of the Supply Unchained awards, a partnership with Blue Moon Fund to support the International Labor Rights Forum and Global Fishing Watch in an ambitious new pilot to explore how satellite-based vessel tracking technology can further our efforts to better identify and counter human trafficking in the global fishing industry.

In closing, USAID knows partnerships are critical to a future where seafood is produced sustainably, legally, and with full respect for the dignity and human rights of all individuals involved with its production.

The private sector knows the pivotal role it plays in countering trafficking in persons and achieving sustainable fisheries. However, as global supply chains grow longer and more complex, it is increasingly difficult to monitor every potential risk.

USAID is committed to partnering with companies to strengthen supply chain visibility and management.

Our most critical partners are the workers themselves. Not only do they benefit from our labor and counter-trafficking programs, but they are critical agents of change.

My father-in-law was a lobster fisherman in Maine. He loved the sea and he was an advocate for preserving the resource to not only ensure that future generations had a livelihood, but also to preserve the unique beauty of our oceans. Fishing boats can be a lonely place without accountability or any transparency.

But we know when workers have a voice, they can be the best monitors not only of working conditions but also of overall fishing practices.

By engaging and lifting up workers’ voices, we can also improve fishery governance. 

Thank you.