Investigations by AP, Greenpeace, the ILO, and the US State Department have repeatedly documented forced labour and modern slavery in the global seafood supply chain.
An Associated Press investigation traced shrimp peeled by enslaved workers in Thailand into the supply chains of major US and global supermarkets. The story won a Pulitzer Prize and triggered industry reform — but the structural problem remains.
Distant-water fishing fleets — operating far from port for months or years — have been repeatedly documented by Greenpeace, the EJF, and Outlaw Ocean Project to use forced labour, debt bondage, and abuse of migrant crew.
Australian fisheries operate under domestic labour law. Crew are typically Australian or visa-holding workers under Fair Work standards. Vessels are inspected. The structural risk that defines parts of the global fleet does not exist here.