Indonesians overworked, abused on foreign fishing vessels
Akhmad said the crew would also catch sharks, cutting off their fins before throwing them back into the ocean.
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Akhmad said the crew would also catch sharks, cutting off their fins before throwing them back into the ocean.
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CIREBON, Indonesia (AFP) — Lured by promises of good money working aboard a foreign fishing vessel, Akhmad left Indonesia and headed out to sea, enduring months of abuse and exploitation while being cut off from the world.
Indonesia is one of the top contributors of labor for the global fishing industry with several hundred thousand migrant workers, according to government figures.
Many are recruited online and assigned to foreign-flagged ships without being properly informed about their rights, leaving them vulnerable to abuse, experts say.
Akhmad, 25, who left Cirebon on Indonesia's Java island in 2022, told Agence France-Presse he would get as little as four hours of rest a day while working on a Chinese-flagged tuna fishing vessel.
"There was no rest. (We) must keep working," said Akhmad, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.
"It was very tiring. My eyes hurt... If I was slightly sleepy, I was ordered to wake up and work."
Crew members had little communication with the outside world and faced regular verbal and physical abuse on board, Akhmad said, recalling the captain once beating a colleague accused of stealing fish they had caught.
In addition to tuna, Akhmad said the crew would also catch sharks, cutting off their fins before throwing them back into the ocean.
The practice known as finning is mostly banned across many fishing zones and countries, including the United States and the European Union, but remains a lucrative business activity in some parts of the world.
Jamaludin, an Indonesian man who worked on a different Chinese-flagged vessel between 2018 and 2020, said he was forced to follow the captain's orders to harvest shark fins despite knowing that it could be illegal.
The 29-year-old said the captain would hurl verbal abuse at him for a delay in installing fishing gear, for example, or if any tool was missing.
Jamaludin said he once saw the captain ordering a fellow crew member to resume work despite an injury to one of his hands that exposed his flesh and bones.
