Historic lawsuit filed based on US Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act
San Diego, CA (March 12, 2025)—Today, a group of fishers filed suit in San Diego, California, against Bumble Bee Foods under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) alleging that they experienced human trafficking and forced labor as they caught tuna that was sold by Bumble Bee in the U.S. The TVPRA offers survivors who have experienced labor, or human rights abuses a private right of action to sue U.S. companies that knowingly sell the goods produced on the back of their abuse.
Akhmad, a complainant in the case, said: “When we were injured, we did not receive any medical treatment. One time, the rope holding the weighing gear broke and dropped a load of fish on me, cutting my leg open from thigh to shin. I was ordered to keep working. I thought there was water filling my boot, but I realized it was my own blood. I could see the bone in my leg. I was left to clean and bandage my leg myself, without sterile medical supplies, and I kept bleeding for two weeks. It still hurts and probably always will.”
“So many men are out there right now, trapped in the same dangerous situation that I was. They deserve to work free from abuse, to be paid fairly, and to be able to leave their jobs rather than be trapped against their will.”
This historic suit, which is believed to be the first of its kind against the seafood industry in the U.S., alleges that Bumble Bee knew or should have known about the conditions these fishers experienced and that Bumble Bee knowingly benefited from the forced labor and human trafficking of these individuals. The allegations in the suit include accounts of physical violence, emotional abuse, untreated life-threatening and deformity-causing injuries, debt bondage, excessive working hours, lack of payment, and financial threats against family members of workers to keep them from escaping their situation. The allegations also include accounts of the fishers coming together to protect each other.
Agnieszka Fryszman, partner at Cohen Milstein and chair of its Human Rights practice, said: “These men were looking for good jobs so they could provide for their families and build a future. Instead, they allege, they were trapped – isolated at sea, beaten with metal hooks, not getting enough food, working around the clock – and facing financial penalties if they tried to leave. The complaint outlines how each of them asked to be released, but were kept on board against their will – and in some cases didn’t take home a single penny for their labor.”
“As part of its effort to stamp out human trafficking and forced labor, U.S. law authorizes survivors to bring claims in the United States against the persons who benefitted from those abuses, recognizing that forced labor overseas harms U.S. companies that obey the law. Our clients are seeking justice not only for themselves but to implement changes that will protect other fishers, including men at sea right now on those same boats.”
Sari Heidenreich, Senior Human Rights Advisor, Greenpeace USA said: “It is never easy for individuals to go up against large, well-resourced, and influential corporations like Bumble Bee, but these men are. In their lawsuit, they share details of their painful and traumatic experiences in order to pursue justice. In doing so, they expose a broken system where thousands of other workers in the industrial fishing sector are trapped in conditions of human trafficking and forced labor in one of the most isolated workplaces on the planet. Today, I am optimistic that through this case they will get the justice they deserve and that corporations will know their power is not unmatched.”
According to its 2022 report, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimated that at least 128,000 fishers globally were victims of forced labor. The report also highlighted a strong link between forced labor and other fisheries-related crimes, such as illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, which play a significant role in exacerbating the ocean and climate crises. IUU precipitates a vicious cycle of dwindling fish stocks, fishing vessels having to go farther out to sea, and staying out for more extended periods of time to bring in enough catch to stay profitable. The isolation of being out at sea for months, and often years, at a time creates conditions ripe for labor abuse, forced labor, and human trafficking. These problems create a downward spiral as forced labor is used to cut labor costs and enable otherwise unprofitable vessels to continue to deplete the oceans.
Seafood is more than a $350 billion industry globally. Bumble Bee’s US parent company, Bumble Bee Seafoods, boasts $1 billion in annual revenue. Meanwhile, migrant fishers onboard Taiwanese fishing vessels were reportedly promised salaries of $400-$600 a month, which were often heavily deducted from or which they never received.
Bumble Bee is one of the three largest US tuna brands, accounting for approximately 25% of the US canned tuna market. Bumble Bee is owned by Fong Chun Formosa (FCF), a vertically integrated Taiwanese tuna trader whose role in the tuna supply chain stretches from fishing vessels to US tuna brands. FCF is one of the world’s top three traders of tuna.
Arifsyah Nasution, Global Project Lead, Beyond Seafood Campaign, Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said: “Thanks to the courage of these individuals, Bumble Bee can no longer pretend they are doing enough to address the suffering experienced by those in their supply chain who contribute to their profits, nor evade their responsibility to protect these vulnerable workers and our oceans. The broader seafood and industrial fishing sector should also now be aware that they can’t continue to proceed with business as usual, engaging in or allowing human rights abuses to go unchecked. The time to put an end to these atrocities is now.”
Bumble Bee has been linked to human rights and environmental abuses for years, supported by reports from various organizations, including several Greenpeace offices, the Environmental Justice Foundation, and Shark Guardian. Greenpeace USA has reached out to Bumble Bee and FCF to discuss these issues multiple times but has often been met with closed doors or silence in recent years. Investigations and supply chain research from the Greenpeace Beyond Seafood fisheries campaigns were used by the litigants’ attorneys to support this complaint.
Heidenreich continued: “The bipartisan support for the TVPRA is a real indicator that most Americans don’t want to consume products tainted with forced labor. It is good that this pathway to justice exists in the US legal system and that these workers are able to seek justice that way. And yet, the barriers to filing such cases are extremely high, as evidenced by the decades of reporting on forced labor in US supply chains and the comparatively small number of TVPRA cases that have been brought. Workers continue to be exploited while US businesses benefit from their notoriously opaque supply chains.”
“Survivors of human rights abuses should not have to wait years for justice or wade through complex legal systems for a chance to get the remedy they deserve. Seafood companies at all stages of the supply chain need to act now to address these repeated and pervasive issues. The extended isolation that put these individuals, and countless others, in extremely vulnerable positions, must end.”
Greenpeace USA has called for concerted action by all actors along the supply chain and at the legislative level to end isolation at sea. Tuna traders, tuna brands, and US retailers should mandate:
- Free, accessible, and secure wifi on all fishing vessels to allow fishers to have contact with their families, unions, and governments;
- Capping time at sea at 3 months to reduce the risk of human rights abuse, forced labor, and human trafficking; and
- 100% human or electronic observer coverage to ensure vital data on catch composition, bycatch, interactions with protected species, and overall fishing practices are reported by independent and impartial parties.
Unions and the right of association for workers are also essential, ensuring a strong worker voice across the various stages of the supply chain. Grievance mechanisms that are accessible – including at sea – secure and responsive allow workers to raise issues when they occur, and for companies to then respond to them promptly, providing remedy and addressing the root causes directly.
Images and videos are available here.
Contact: Tanya Brooks, Senior Communications Specialist at Greenpeace USA, [email protected]
Greenpeace USA is part of a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people first. Learn more at www.greenpeace.org/usa.
