{"id":3338,"date":"2022-09-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-16T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www-prod.greenpeace.org\/usa\/campaign-updates\/3338\/bumble-bee-good-for-who\/"},"modified":"2024-11-22T05:54:54","modified_gmt":"2024-11-22T05:54:54","slug":"bumble-bee-good-for-who","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/bumble-bee-good-for-who\/","title":{"rendered":"Bumble Bee – Good For Who?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bumble Bee Tuna must heed the demands of the thousands of Americans asking them to clean up their supply chain, protect the rights of workers, and safeguard our oceans.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sourced Bumble Bee Tuna in the US
Greenpeace research found that a Bumble Bee tuna can purchased from Harris Teeter (a wholly owned subsidiary of Kroger Co.) in Arlington, Virginia on April 12, 2022 was sourced from DA WANG, a Taiwanese-owned fishing vessel that was confirmed to have indicators of forced labor by US Customs and Border Protection.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TW: This blog includes mention of physical abuse<\/em><\/p>\n

Bumble Bee Tuna is making waves again! But, sadly, not for any of the reasons we would hope, like taking meaningful action to fulfill their promises on corporate social responsibility and sustainability to people and planet<\/a> \u2014 promises that are supposed to extend through their supply chain.<\/p>\n

Their latest marketing campaign is full of happy, smiling people, enjoying a taste of the products they confidently tout as healthy, nutritious, and \u201cGood For You<\/a>.\u201d But a recent Greenpeace East Asia report has once again found that Bumble Bee may not be telling us the whole story. Fake My Catch: the unreliable traceability in our tuna cans<\/a> finds that Bumble Bee is not doing enough to keep forced labor and environmental destruction out of their supply chain. After reading the report, we can\u2019t help but wonder \u2014 Bumble Bee: #GoodForWho?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The report finds that of a sampling of 119 Taiwanese-flagged\/owned vessels that supplied Bumble Bee, over 10% (13) had violated Taiwan Fishery Agency regulations and were on their Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) list. The report also alleges that some vessels supplying Bumble Bee had reportedly engaged in shark finning and illegal fishing.<\/strong> Additionally, Greenpeace East Asia\u2019s interviews with fishers who worked aboard some of the vessels supplying Bumble Bee revealed that workers reportedly labored excessive overtime hours while having their wages withheld. Others stated that their documents were retained, a practice sometimes used by vessel operators or manning agencies to deter or prevent fishers from leaving or terminating their contracts early.<\/p>\n

And, unfortunately, it doesn\u2019t stop there. What was particularly alarming to learn was that a canned Bumble Bee product I picked up at my neighborhood grocery store, Harris Teeter in Arlington, Virginia, contained fish sourced from the Da Wang \u2014 a vessel that was recently confirmed by US Customs & Border Protection to have employed forced labor.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Greenpeace research found that a Bumble Bee tuna can was sourced from DA WANG, a Taiwanese-owned fishing vessel that was confirmed to have indicators of forced labor by US Customs and Border Protection.<\/em><\/p>\n

The stories that have emerged about the working conditions onboard the Da Wang have been nothing short of horrifying. Migrant fishers reported facing physical abuse onboard and one worker even died after an accident where he was reportedly hit on the back of the head. While an autopsy found the cause of the death was not directly linked to this incident, according to prosecutors it nonetheless prompted 19 foreign crew members to quit<\/a>, reportedly because they couldn’t stand the physical abuse they were subjected to aboard the ship. In April this year, the vessel\u2019s captain, first mate, and seven others were indicted by Taiwanese authorities for their involvement in forced labor and human trafficking.<\/a><\/p>\n