A federal loophole allows American boats to employ workers in the dangerous industry for years at a time - provided they never step foot on shore.

An investigation has uncovered many of the workers live in horrendous conditions, are forced to use buckets instead of toilets and suffering running sores from bed bugs, and are paid as little as 70 cents an hour.

"People say these fishermen can't leave their boats, they're like captives," said U.S. Attorney Florence Nakakuni in Hawaii.

"But they don't have visas, so they can't leave their boat, really."

Associated Press obtained confidential contracts and interviewed boat owners, brokers and more than 50 fishermen in Hawaii, Indonesia and San Francisco as part of an ongoing global look at labour abuses in the fishing industry.

Last year, the AP reported about fishermen locked in a cage and buried under fake names on the remote Indonesian island village of Benjina.

Their catch was traced to the United States, leading to more than 2,000 slaves being freed.

But thousands more remain trapped worldwide in an industry where work takes place far from shore and often without oversight.

On some boats the fishermen are paid as little as $350 a month, but many make $500 to $600.

A lucky few get a percentage of the catch, making it possible to triple their wages.

The men are willing to give up their freedom to take these jobs because the pay is better than they can make back home in developing countries where many people live on less than $1 a day.

Source

• thedailymail.co.uk
• Image: thedailymail.co.uk

The Jakarta Post carried the story of the 32 Indonesian fishermen who deserted the South Korean deep-sea trawler Oyang 75 in Christchurch in June 2011.

Dr. Ani Kartikasari who was the Christchurch Indonesian Society president at the time describes how she found the 32 men shivering in a church. "They were very cold, most wearing cotton jackets," she said.

"The heaters on the walls were on but their faces could not hide the exhaustion and fatigue from the previous sleepless night when they discussed their plight together."

They have been hailed as heroes. "Their actions have cleared the path for other crews to follow and exposed the wrongs so many have suffered," said the Rev. Jolyon White, social justice enabler for the Anglican Church.

His assessment was echoed by Christchurch Indonesian Society president "Nonie" Elyana Thenu and her predecessor, Ani Kartikasari. "They are brave men, heroes," they said. "What they've done has made a difference."

Source

• The Jakarta Post
• Image: The Jakarta Post