StarKist Tuna Linked to Forced Labour Allegations

Buying a tin of tuna? You might be paying for far more exploitation than the killing of the tuna inside it.

A 2½-year investigation into StarKist’s Pacific albacore supply chain has documented allegations of forced labour, debt, confiscated passports, extreme working hours, isolation and untreated injuries aboard fishing vessels supplying one of the biggest canned tuna brands in the United States. And we have been here before. Last year, we wrote about similar allegations involving Bumble Bee. Different company. Same industry. Same question. How much suffering can possibly be packed into one tin?

Forced labour indicators found in every case

The investigation interviewed 92 migrant fishers who had worked across 37 vessels. Forced-labour indicators were reportedly present in every case. For 62 workers across 27 vessels, the evidence was considered sufficient to meet the International Labor Organization definition of forced labour. That definition covers involuntary work carried out under threat or coercion. Indicators include deception, abuse of vulnerability, retention of identity documents, excessive overtime and abusive working and living conditions.

All of the workers interviewed reported that their passports had been held while they were at sea. All were working under visas tying them to their employers. Many had experienced debts which made leaving their jobs harder. Nearly every worker interviewed said they had worked more than 14 hours a day, with many describing shifts lasting 16 to 22 hours, seven days a week.

This is the labour behind a product sold in an ordinary tin on an ordinary supermarket shelf.

Three hours of sleep. Then back to work.

Fishing for tuna on distant-water vessels can involve 15 to 24 hours of work during a single fishing cycle. Workers bait hooks across miles of fishing line, cast them into the ocean, haul them back, kill and clean the tuna, store their bodies and prepare the deck to begin again. Rest can come in windows of just 3 to 5 hours. One worker, Adrie Nelwan, described getting around three hours of sleep each night and working continuously.

Then he was seriously injured.

In 2021, a fishing line snapped aboard the Chin Yu Cheng No. 6 and a hook struck Nelwan in his right eye. His eye filled with blood. He said the captain refused his requests for medical treatment. The vessel had no WiFi for him to contact anyone for help.

Then, while his vision was disappearing, he said he was threatened with a pay cut and returned to work. It took almost 2 months for him to reach a hospital. By then, he was blind in his right eye. His family later went into debt paying for further surgery.

A severed finger. 11 days without treatment.

Another worker, Abdul Roni, was injured in April 2025. His hand became caught in a rotating pulley while he was pulling in a fishing net. His middle finger was severed completely and 2 other fingers were broken. He asked for the vessel to dock in Guam, around two days away, so he could receive treatment. He said that request was refused. Roni did not receive treatment until the vessel reached Taiwan 11 days later.

These are not minor disputes over contracts or working conditions. We are talking about workers losing fingers. Workers losing their sight. Workers asking for medical treatment and allegedly being left at sea instead.

Trapped at sea

The isolation makes everything worse.

Some workers reported spending between three and 10 months without stopping at a port or having internet access. That means months with little ability to contact the outside world, report abuse or move to another vessel.

Some said they slept on stacked planks. Some said they could only wash using the seawater hose used to clean the deck, which they said caused skin problems. Others reported waiting months to be paid. And before some workers even reach the vessels, debt can already have them trapped.

Recruitment agencies may charge workers fees before employment begins. A 2023 survey found an average cost of $817, with some workers paying more than $1,500. Workers may also already have committed money to flights and visas before receiving vague contracts at the last minute. Once the boat leaves shore, escape becomes rather more complicated.

StarKist says forced labour is prohibited

StarKist says in its code of conduct that its fish are responsibly sourced and forced labour is prohibited. But investigators identified 313 vessels in its Pacific albacore supply chain, including 162 identified as Taiwan-flagged or Taiwanese-owned. The vessels where Nelwan and Roni said they were injured were confirmed as appearing on a StarKist-provided list of registered vessels. Union leaders representing migrant fishers say they have attempted to contact StarKist twice without receiving a response.

Workers are now asking StarKist to negotiate directly with them and establish a binding agreement intended to protect their rights. Meanwhile, a complaint has been filed against StarKist’s parent company, Dongwon Industries, with the South Korean government office responsible for monitoring compliance with international supply-chain due-diligence guidelines.

Haven’t we done this already?

Yes. In 2025, we covered allegations involving workers aboard Taiwanese-flagged vessels linked to Bumble Bee tuna. That investigation included allegations of deception, confiscated identity documents, debt bondage and extreme working conditions. More than 90% of migrant fishers covered by that earlier material reported being trapped in a cycle of debt and exploitation.

One fisher described working until he fainted. Repeatedly.

Four Indonesian fishers later filed a federal lawsuit against Bumble Bee Foods accusing the company of knowingly benefiting from forced labour aboard vessels operated by suppliers. Now another huge tuna brand is facing another set of allegations. At some point, pretending these are just isolated bad actors becomes increasingly difficult.

Exploitation from both directions

There is something especially revealing about industrial fishing. The entire system already depends on killing animals. Workers spend exhausting hours baiting hooks, hauling fishing lines from the ocean and killing, cleaning and storing the tuna who have been caught. And the humans being used to perform that killing can themselves be subjected to exploitation, debt, injury and isolation.

More than 32,000 people die while fishing worldwide every year, with many more injured or made ill. An industry killing fishes while workers allege they are being pushed through 16, 18 or 22-hour days. An industry where a man can lose a finger and wait 11 days for treatment. Where another can lose his sight after being kept at sea for almost 2 months. Where passports can be held, debts accumulate and workers can spend months isolated from the outside world. There is an easier option.

Stop buying tuna.

We said it when Bumble Bee was linked to forced-labour allegations. Nobody needs to be killed for a sandwich. And nobody should be trapped at sea catching them.