Page 28 - bon-dia-aruba-20210805

A28 u.s. news
Diahuebs 5 augustus 2021

US blocks seafood from Fiji ship accused of enslaving crew

of vulnerable migrant workers from ronment.”
poorer countries are subjected to hor-
rific conditions by operators traveling In May, the U.S. blocked imports
farther at sea and for longer periods as of seafood from the entire fleet of a
fish populations decline worldwide. Chinese company with more than 30
ships that authorities say forced crew
“Foreign fishing vessels like the members to work in slave-like condi-
Hangton No. 112 continue to lure tions that led to the deaths of several
vulnerable migrant workers into Indonesian fishermen last year. CBP
forced labor situations so that they has also issued orders against indi-
can sell seafood below market value, vidual vessels from Taiwan and else-
which threatens the livelihoods of where.
American fishermen,” CBP Acting
Commissioner Troy Miller said in a The 102-foot (34-meter) Hang-
statement released ahead of the an- ton No. 112 operates with a crew of
nouncement of the order. “CBP will about a dozen, according to online
continue to stand up against these records. The boat was cited in a De-
vessels’ abusive labor practices by cember 2019 investigative report by
preventing the introduction of their Greenpeace Southeast Asia and the
unethically harvested seafood into Indonesian Migrant Workers Union
the U.S. market.” that documented abusive conditions
in the Pacific fishing fleet. The opera-
Records show about $40 million in tor denied the allegations at the time.
tuna and other fish from the Hang-
ton No. 112 have been imported into Advocates such as Greenpeace say
the U.S. market in recent years de- migrant workers, often from the
spite industry efforts to address the Philippines and Indonesia, are par-
issue, said Ana Hinojosa, the CBP di- ticularly vulnerable to abusive labor
rectorate that investigates allegations conditions, with brokers often taking
of forced labor. The agency does not a cut of their wages and ship opera-
publicly identify the importers who tors and companies forcing them to
received the shipments. work extreme hours and endure bru-
tal treatment, in one of the most dan-
CBP said its investigation found evi- gerous occupations, with no recourse
dence that the crew of the Hangton and no way to escape while at sea.
112 had wages improperly withheld
from them, their identity documents In recent years, the issue of unregu-
were taken and they were kept in lated fishing has gained increased at-
“debt bondage,” which typically in- tention not just for the abusive treat-
volves charging workers an excessive ment of workers but also the damage
(AP) — A tuna fishing boat based issued an order to stop any shipments amount in advance for travel and oth- it does to the environment, econo-
in the Pacific island nation of in American ports from the Hangton er expenses and holding them until mies around the world and food sup-
Fiji that has been accused of es- No. 112, a longliner operated by a they worked to pay if off. ply.
sentially enslaving its crew was Chinese national, after the agency de-
blocked Wednesday from im- termined there was credible evidence The agency found additional condi- An investigation of the fishing indus-
porting seafood into the United that the crew was subjected to con- tions that were “difficult to read,” try by The Associated Press, which
States, part of an increasing ef- ditions defined as forced labor under Hinojosa said, even considering that received the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for
fort to keep goods produced with international standards. fishing is a notoriously difficult and Public Service, resulted in the freeing
forced labor from entering the dangerous industry. “I wouldn’t call of more than 2,000 slaves and traced
country. It’s the latest in a series of such orders it a fun job, but there are certain pro- seafood they caught to supermarkets
targeting Asian fishing vessels amid tections of human rights that are ex- and pet food providers around the
U.S. Customs and Border Protection reports that crews made up largely pected in any kind of working envi- U.S.

Forecasters: Hurricane season to be busier than 1st thought

(AP) - After a record start, dicted in May. Meteorolo- cooling of the central Pacific eastern Caribbean in June or through the end of Novem-
followed by a near-silent gists also said the number of and a general period of high July it tends to be a busy sea- ber, with its peak running
July, the Atlantic hurri- expected hurricanes is seven storm activity since 1995 are son, Rosencrans said. from mid-August to mid-
cane season looks like it to 10, instead of six to 10. reasons for a busy season, October.
will be busier than meteo- said lead forecaster Matthew Hurricane season lasts
rologists predicted a few The chance for an above av- Rosencrans.
months ago. erage hurricane season in-
creased from 60% to 65%, Colorado State University,
The National Oceanic and with a 15% chance that which pioneered hurricane
Atmospheric Administration forecasters will run past the seasonal forecasts, last month
on Wednesday updated its list of 21 storm names. Last also increased the number of
outlook for the 2021 Atlan- year saw a record 30 named storms expected in its fore-
tic season, slightly increasing storms and forecasters had to cast.
the number of named storms use Greek letters by the end
and hurricanes expected in of the season. In early July, soon-to-be
what is predicted to be a busy Hurricane Elsa formed and
— but not record-breaking A reduction in high lev- was the earliest fifth named
— year. el cross winds, normal to storm on record, beating a
slightly warmer sea tem- mark set last year. Elsa also
The agency is now forecast- peratures, increased rains in formed in the eastern Carib-
ing 15 to 21 named storms Africa where seeds of stron- bean and history shows that
instead of the 13 to 20 it pre- ger storms start, a possible years when storms develop in