Human Impacts on the Ocean

Human Life: The Number One Neglected Issue in the Ocean

The ocean is a vast world brimming with marine life, diversity, and beauty . Yet, it has become a place of lawlessness, greed, and inhumanity. In Ian Urbina's New York Times 2015 article "Sea Slaves: The Human Misery That Feeds Pets and Livestock," he shares some shocking and disturbing information regarding the Thailand fishing industry. Urbina strives to bring attention to the realities of how countries like the United States ignorantly receive pet food and livestock. Urbina's purpose is to expose the evilness and human trafficking that is occurring on international waters. Urbina hopes that readers will become more aware of the outlaw ocean, even if it means sharing some unsettling testimonies of victimized men.

First, Urbina makes the point that human trafficking is absolutely rampant at sea. Men like Lang Long, a Cambodian man, simply wanted to make more money to provide for this family. However, like many others, he was tricked and lured by a trafficker to accept a scam job across the Thailand border. He was treated like an animal and sold between fishing boats. As a matter of fact, "...one captain shackled him by the neck whenever other boats neared" (p. 2). How is this sort of inhumanity allowed in our ocean? Slavery is occurring in the ocean everyday, yet no one seems to know or think twice about it. As a reader, this is the first time I have ever heard about it. Lang Long would spend three years of his life as a sea slave. Long is only one of many migrant men who are sold and forced into Thai fishing labor.

Another point Urbina seeks to bring attention to is the brutal and inhumane treatment of these vulnerable men, some who are barely fifteen years old. Cambodian boys work shifts that last 18 to 20 hours without shoes and in complete blackness. This is because silver forage fish are easier to stop at night. Roaches crawl all over, fumes fill the sleeping quarters, and infections are ever-present. For example, "...the migrants' hands, which are virtually never fully dry, have open wounds, slit from fish scales and torn from the nets' friction" (p. 5). These captives not only experience beating from the strenuous labor they perform, but also beatings from their captains. Many of the boys that were interviewed also revealed non-verbal signs that they were beaten. In addition, a United Nations survey revealed that 29 out of 50 Cambodian boys, who were sold, claimed to have seen their captain or officers murder another worker (p. 3). Since the ocean is so vast, workers can easily be isolated, which allows for more abusive working conditions. Most of these young boys can't swim either, so they would likely drown if they even tried to escape this cruelty. When I read these testimonies, my heart truly broke. I began to realize that there are human beings in desperate need of rescue, who are trapped in the middle of the ocean. Yes, marine life needs to be protected, but what about our own kind? Will we neglect them and focus on other ocean matters instead? Will we continue to prioritize climate change and plastic straws over human life?

To add more fuel to the issue at hand, it is clear that the United States, along with other countries, plays a major role. The Thai fishing industry is fueled by the demand of Americans for canned cat and dog food. The forage fish that men like Lang Long caught end up in a cannery called the "Songkla Canning Public Company," which directly works with Thai Union Frozen Products. Thai Union Frozen Products is Thailand's biggest seafood corporation, and has "...shipped more than 28 million pounds of seafood-based cat and dog food, for some of the top brands sold in America including Iams..." (p. 3). The United States has a high demand for pet food, and they are Thailand's biggest customer. Many Americans would be mortified to find out that their cat's food was made possible through the forced labor of sea slaves. We only add more fuel to the fire with our ever-growing need for pet food. However, does that mean we need to stop buying canned pet food? How do we know anything is safe or reliable to eat at this point?

To try and resolve this uncertainty, however, Americans have been focusing on the wrong idea. Yes, Americans want accountability in seafood corporations, but they want accountability for the wrong reasons. Americans want to ensure illegal fishing is not occurring and that the fish is not contaminated. Again, here we are acting selfishly per usual. Frustratingly, "no attention has focused on the labor that supplies the seafood that people eat" (p. 4). As Americans, we need to start thinking more about the people that supply the food, not the food itself. Thankfully, corporations like Nestle, who make pet food brands, have announced that they are working to ensure forced labor is not used in their pet products. Another company, Mars Inc., has made the courageous endeavor to replace fishmeal in many of its pet products to slowly minimize using fish. They also plan to use "...only non-threatened fish caught legally or raised on farms and certified by third-party auditors as not being linked to forced labor" (p. 13). Even European countries have required bar codes on pet food products that allow consumers to track Thai-exported fish to the location is was canned. These changes and strategies are the start to helping solve the outlaw ocean issue. Nonetheless, it is extremely difficult to trace back where fish comes from since it moves through various ports and vessels in the foreign ocean. It can be a challenge to have confidence that proper working conditions were present for laborers.

Another major issue is the Thailand government itself, and its disregard for men held captive at sea. Thailand struggles with maintaining strict laws that regulate how long boats can stay at sea. As a matter of fact, in 2014, "...it was the only country to vote against a United Nations treaty on forced labor requiring governments to punish traffickers..." (p. 10). Clearly, Thailand does not prioritize the issue of human trafficking. Marine authorities in Thailand rarely inspect fishing vessels for labor violations, since their boats apparently lack the fuel to reach such far ships. Thus, fishing vessels like the one Lang Long was on, never get inspected. Though it is important to note that a registration system is underway in Thailand to keep track of undocumented laborers and get them the identification cards they need. As Americans, we can't force Thailand to simply comply and stop this lawlessness. However, we can raise our voices to help those who have no voice. Human rights advocates have called for "...all commercial fishing ships to have electronic transponders to onshore monitoring and banning the system of long stays at sea" (p. 12). Groups like Stella Maris and the underground railroad around Thailand are tremendously saving the lives of innocent men. This also includes miraculous encounters with strangers who happen to witness victims and contact these groups to get them back home.

It is clear that Urbina made a compelling and eye-opening argument regarding the outlaw ocean. The outlaw ocean is an issue that seems to be put at the end of the list, yet I believe it is the most important. We must work to bring attention to the matter in order to save the lives of vulnerable men who are being held captive as sea slaves. No, this issue cannot be solved overnight. Nor, will it ever be completely solved since there will always be injustice and corruption in this world. The ocean is big, and it is impossible to keep track of every single deed that occurs in it. However, I believe the biggest strategy we can use to minimize the power of this inhumanity is awareness and exposure. We must spread the news that sea slavery is occurring in international waters and that the United States only adds fuel to it with its reliance on the Thai fishing industry. We must seek out alternatives to different canned pet foods. Men are being brutally beaten, sold, and treated like they're not even human. Americans, we must prioritize human life first and foremost. Yes, we need to take better care of our ocean and help protect marine species, but how can we achieve this, if we ignore our own flesh and blood? We're so focused on buying reusable straws, the changing temperatures, and endangered species, that we can't even take care of our own kind who are screaming for help. When we first choose to protect our own kind, we will begin to bring true health back to our ocean. There are men out there in the middle of the sea, lost and afraid. They are thinking the same thing Lang Long was thinking, "I will never see land again." Will we speak for them? Or will we turn the other way and leave them to die with shackles?