Ireland ‘highest risk in Europe’ for potential labour abuse
21st April 2022
A group of academics writing in the science journal Nature Communications, analysing 8,768,000 fishing vessel trips and 5,800 transhipment operations worldwide recorded by the UK-based NGO Global Fishing Watch, have concluded that the UK and Ireland are the most likely of all western countries to be at risk of labour abuse, reports Andy Read.
Whilst dwarfed by scores related to transhipment at sea, or in ports around Africa dominated by foreign-owned fleets, particularly from China, the results will nevertheless be unsettling for Ireland in particular, which recorded the highest scores in Europe, according to the team of academics, and where previous claims of labour abuse have been made by NGOs.
Researchers conducted a series of interviews and questionnaires with academics and commentators worldwide, linking their answers with data extracted from the Global Fishing Watch database, which tracks AIS and VMS data of fishing vessel and reefer activity worldwide.
The full paper is available for download here.
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