North Korean crew members working aboard a fleet of Chinese tuna fishing vessels in the Southwest Indian Ocean are likely to have been subjected to abuses including being trapped at sea for up to a decade on vessels involved in illegal fishing and the killing of dolphins.

This is the key finding of a new and unprecedented investigation conducted by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) who has identified the presence of North Korean crew aboard 12 tuna longliners operating in the Indian Ocean between March 2019 and June 2024.

The discovery was made through a series of interviews with Indonesian and Filipino crew who had also worked on the vessels between that time period. The use of North Korean crew appears to have bypassed the legal frameworks in operation that have been designed to prevent goods produced by North Koreans from entering global supply chains.

EJF states that China is a key destination for North Korean labour and the country is believed to host as many as 100,000 workers, including in seafood processing plants exporting to the EU and the US. This is, however, the first time North Korean labour has been publicly documented on a distant-water fishing vessel.

The alleged experiences of the North Korean crew – in particular, the number of years some are recorded to have spent at sea – constitute, says the EJF, as forced labour of a magnitude that surpasses much of that witnessed in a global fishing industry that already stands accused as “replete with abuse”.

EJF investigations show that the vessels thought to be using North Korean labour have potentially supplied seafood markets in the UK, the EU, and Asia, all despite the legal frameworks in place built to prevent such things from happening.

Accounts taken from interviewees allege that North Korean crew members were ‘passed from vessel to vessel’ using a method called trans-shipment to prevent them from returning to land. Severe restrictions were placed on their freedoms, such as not being able to leave the vessels during port visits and not being allowed mobile phones.

Both of these come under the International Labour Organisation’s indicators of forced labour. 

Testimonies have also revealed that the vessel’s captains were “actively concealing their presence on board”. One Indonesian crew member told EJF how six Koreans were not allowed to go home, even after they completed their four year contract. Instead, they “were just moved from one ship to another”.

Previous investigations led by the EJF have found this same fleet of Chinese vessels in the Southwest Indian Ocean to be linked to illegal fishing practices, the intentional targeting of vulnerable wildlife, and human rights abuses.

Across the 12 vessels using North Korean labour, EJF has identified examples of shark finning, fishing for prohibited species, and the capture of marine megafauna, such as dolphins. Alongside restricting the rights of the North Koreans on board, the crew reportedly experienced physical abuse, verbal abuse, and excessive overtime.

The Environmental Justice Foundation has laid the blame here at multiple failures across fisheries management and port controls, calling out Flag states and Regional Fisheries Management Organisations for failing to collectively and urgently enshrine transparency measures to “materially help combat forced labour at sea”.

“The use of North Korean labour on board Chinese fishing vessels is a damning indictment of the failure to regulate our oceans,” said Steve Trent, CEO and founder of the Environmental Justice Foundation.

“Illegal fishing and human rights abuses can be found almost without exception on board China’s distant-water vessels. However, the use of North Korean forced labour for such long periods is a particularly severe example of the egregious misconduct uncovered by the EJF.”

While China bears what Trent describes as the “bulk of the responsibility” the position of the EJF is that this is a global crisis that needs addressing with international collaboration. And at the heart of it all is the industry’s current lack of transparency.

“The ripple effects of this can be felt far and wide, with the fish caught using this illegal labour reaching seafood markets across the world,” said Trent. “When products tainted by modern slavery can be found on our own plates, it is clear that collective responsibility needs to be taken by Flag states and regulating bodies as well.”

According to the EJF, any further failure to take the steps to end these kind of practices – as outlined in the Charter for Fisheries Transparency, which includes the mandatory transmission of AIS signals to the elimination of close monitoring of trans-shipment – simply means turning a blind eye to extreme, avoidable suffering.

The full investigative report, titled Trapped at Sea: Exposing North Korean forced labour on China’s Indian Ocean tuna fleet can be read here.

The Environmental Justice Foundation works to protect the global climate, ocean, forests, wetlands, wildlife, and to defend the fundamental human right to a secure, natural environment. It works internationally to inform policy and drive systemic, durable reforms to protect the environment and defend human rights.

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