June 24, 2019 — Three years after allegations of labor abuses in the Hawaii longline fishing fleet came to light, foreign workers continue to be excluded from the legal protections afforded to U.S. workers, according to a new report from the Georgetown Law Human Rights Institute.
But a special visa allowing workers to temporarily enter the U.S. could improve conditions by allowing workers to more easily access medical care and legal resources.
The report characterized working conditions as “extremely harsh,” but did not determine specific instances of labor abuse. Instead, the report concluded that foreign fishermen in the industry are vulnerable to forced labor.
About 700 foreign fishermen work on U.S. longline vessels in Hawaii, catching tens of millions of pounds of fish every year. The fishermen are confined to the pier area in Honolulu because of an odd visa system that technically denies them entry to the U.S., while allowing them to fish in a U.S. fleet.
The report relied on interviews with 43 fishermen, among other sources, and was produced by 10 Georgetown Law students.
“They cannot go ashore to seek legal counsel, visit doctors regularly (or) buy their own food,” Ashley Binette Armstrong, a co-instructor for the class and the Dash-Muse teaching fellow at Georgetown, told SeafoodSource. “Their lack of legal status also affects the long and arduous path they must take to arrive in Hawaii, as well as the limitations on how often they can return home to see their families.”