Fishing
There is significant evidence in the public domain that slavery and trafficking occur in the fishing industry worldwide. In relation to the UK fishing industry, recent inaugural research commissioned by Anglo-Northern Irish Fish Producers Organisation (ANIFPO) and carried out by Human Rights at Sea found that there was little evidence of slavery and trafficking in the Northern Ireland fishing industry at first instance.
The significance of this research is that this is the first time in the UK that a fisheries Producer Organisation (PO) voluntarily requested a complete review of its work relating to the employment of Non-EEA crews. The facts show that in the case of ANIFPO, there is significant care and attention paid to the PO's corporate social responsibility policies and mechanisms in the employment of their Non-EEA crews.
This links to the ongoing investigations by the UK Border Force and Home Office into human trafficking and abuses at sea and sheds a new level of transparency on working practices in the UK fisheries sector.
Featured contents
Northern Irish Fishing Industry
Independent research project into non-EEA nationals working in the Northern Irish fishing industry
ANIFPO Statement
Anglo North Irish Fish Producers Organisation (ANIFPO) statement on Human Rights at Sea non-EEA crew report