Taiwan, Taiwan
CNN
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Silwanus Tancotta worked on a Taiwanese fishing boat in the far Pacific Ocean last year. At that moment, heavy waves slammed the swinging metal door in his hand, crushing his middle finger.
The Indonesian immigrant fishermen needed to see a doctor, but the captain refused to return to the port, saying they had not caught enough fish to justify the trip. For over a month, the tancotta was forced to endure the burning pain, wrapping the wound in tape and picking it with exposed bones with toothpicks to prevent infection.
“I did whatever I could… took the clippers and toothpicks on my nails and destroyed the protruding bone,” he told CNN. “I thought if I didn’t pull the bones out, the infection would continue and my fingers would rub.”
Tancotta’s ordeal is tragic, but far from an isolated incident.
Taiwan operates the world’s second largest remote water fishing fleet. We supply tuna, squid and other seafood to supermarkets around the world, including the US and Europe.
Autonomous Island is widely promoted as a beacon of Asian liberalism and human rights, a vibrant democracy with a relatively strong record of equality, for example being one of three Asian jurisdictions where same-sex marriage is legal.
However, the treatment of migrant workers is subject to growing international scrutiny, raising questions about their commitment to these values.
Since 2020, the US Department of Labor has cited Taiwan’s far-flung water fishing as showing signs of forced labor and highlighting issues such as deceptive adoption, withholding, physical violence and extreme working hours.
In a statement to CNN, Taiwan’s Fisheries Agency said the U.S. Department of Labor’s report was based on “unverified” information provided by NGOs, and that immigrant fishermen described it as “an important partner” in Taiwan’s fishing.
The agency said Taiwan is one of the “few” jurisdictions for “implementing a concrete plan of action on fisheries and human rights.”
Taiwan’s Labor Ministry said it will work with the Fisheries Bureau to “practically protect the rights of distant migrant fishermen and support strengthening related conservation measures.”
However, migrant workers like Tancotta are part of staying politically and socially marginalized, and often face serious abuse without the attention of many people.
Tancotta, now 38 years old, is from Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, and began working on Taiwanese vessels in 2019. In Indonesia, fishermen often earn less than $100 a month. This is a minimum of $550 in Taiwan.
However, the reality was tougher than he thought. On a mid-sized fishing boat, Tancotta spent up to four months at a time in the relentless Pacific Ocean, working 18-hour shifts with just a short rest. The boat was designed for a crew of 23 people, but only 16 people were on board. The food was insufficient and often drove off quickly, he said.
But the bigger problem was extreme isolation. The boat had no internet, and it separated the crew from their families and kept them from asking for help.
When Tancotta was seriously injured, its isolation became important. The boat was located near the Solomon Islands, about 5,000 kilometers (3,000 miles) from Taiwan, with the door crushing my fingers. With no way to seek help, he had no choice but to continue on board while the captain prioritized profits. When he was finally transferred to another ship a few weeks later, it continued fishing, not heading to the harbor.
“I felt helpless and the pain felt difficult to sleep,” he said. “The only thing in my mind was that I needed to land as soon as possible, which made me disappointed.”
A month later, he was hospitalized in Taiwan with two missing fingers, but was soon given a letter of dismissal. Not because of injuries, but because his position was over. As a result, he was denied compensation.
The Fisheries Department received a report from the fishing boat about the Tancotta incident and said it received treatment from the captain while on the trip.
“This case was reported to a coast-based doctor and evaluated it as no immediate risk,” he said. “The captain continued to provide care to Mr. Tancotta, based on the advice of the doctor.”
CNN reached out to Tancotta’s former employer and its representative Indonesian office in Taipei for comment.
Taiwan’s far-flung water fishing relies on more than 20,000 Indonesian and Filipino workers, but lacks political will to protect their rights, said Allison Lee is the co-founder of Yilan Migrant Fishermen Union, based in a fishing port in northeastern Taiwan.
“The US has been labelled Taiwan’s fisheries since 2020, but the government responded with rhetoric, but little has changed,” she said, adding that many workers have promised decent salaries but have faced overwork and delayed wages.
Unlike most migrant workers in Taiwan, far water fishermen operate under a different set of rules and are excluded from Taiwan’s Labor Standards Act. This means that it lacks overtime wages and health insurance protections that others are entitled to.
“Overwork has a very serious problem,” added Lee. “Some migrant workers were told they had 10 crew members, but only four people were on board and they had to work very long.”
Even basic safety measures were ignored, she said. Some people have told them not to wear life jackets because they “get in the way” of work.
In 2023, the 10 Indonesian crew members on your ship were owed 15 months’ wages. The fisherman reported that he was forced to feed with instant noodles due to food shortages and faced daily verbal abuse.
Wage theft is one of the widest problems facing immigrant fishermen, said Achimad Mudozakir, a fisherman who leads a Taiwan-based NGO that supports other crews.
His organization regularly receives complaints about unpaid wages. It will have devastating consequences for families. “It’s a bit painful because when we work hard at sea, we face high risks and put our lives at risk.
Mudzakir said one solution would require WiFi access for all immigrant fishermen.
He added that restrictions that prevent migrant workers from returning to their home countries or switching jobs without paying fees for new agents prevent them from reporting abuse for fear of firing their debts or paying debts.
In response to inclusion in the US forced labor list, the Taiwan Fisheries Agency said it has been introducing reforms since 2022, including raising the minimum wage, installing CCTVs on boats, and hiring new inspectors to improve working conditions. However, activists like Lee criticised the measure as a cosmetic product, saying it aims to improve Taiwan’s image rather than addressing the underlying causes of forced labor.
Former Indonesian immigrant fisherman Adrian Dogdodo Bassar saw him die on a Taiwanese fishing boat in 2023, reflecting his call for reform.
While working in the Pacific, his friend became seriously ill with swollen legs and stomach pain. Adrian said the captain pleaded for his high cost to return to the port, offering only expired medicines. A few months later – before the ship returned – his friend died.
Adrian said he was punished for food deprivation and threats of pay deduction when he demanded that the body be returned home immediately. “We asked him to go to the nearest port to send Bodhis home, but the captain denied us,” he said. “When I started to protest, I was not given any food.”
Like other immigrant fishermen, Adrian paid more than US$2,000 to secure the job. This is a debt that prevents other colleagues from speaking out for fear of losing their job.
These abuses may seem far away, but Taiwan is the seventh largest seafood exporter in the world, earning catches at dining tables around the world. This means that seafood on supermarket shelves may have been caught by exploited workers.
“American consumers still have a significant risk of consuming seafood contaminated by modern slavery,” says Saliheidenreich, senior human rights advisor at Greenpeace USA. “It’s essential for companies importing seafood from Taiwan to scrutinize their supply chains more closely.”
Earlier this year, four Indonesian fishermen filed a groundbreaking federal lawsuit against a massive Bumblebee Food in the US, owned by Taiwanese seafood conglomerate FCF Co. He told CNN that this was the first known case of fishing boat slavery brought about to Agnieszka Fryszman, a US seafood company, one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers.
As for Silwanus, who now relies on his friends and relatives, he hopes that no one has to endure what he has done.
“I hope all my friends, all my siblings work on Taiwanese ships. If they get injured in the sea, they’re getting proper treatment.”
“I hope this only happens to me, but not to other fishermen again.
