Signs for shrimp hatcheries are displayed on a roadside in Uppada, Kakinada district, Andhra Pradesh, India, Friday, Feb. 9, 2024.SAN FRANCISCO — Noriko Kuwabara was excited to try a new recipe she’d seen on social media for crispy shrimp spring rolls, so she and her husband headed to Costco’s frozen foods aisle. But when she grabbed a bag of farm-raised shrimp from the freezer and saw “Product of India,” she wrinkled her nose.
India became America’s leading shrimp supplier, accounting for about 40% of the shrimp consumed in the U.S., in part because media reports including an AP investigation exposed modern day slavery in the Thai seafood industry. AP’s 2015 reporting led to the freedom of some 2,000 enslaved fishermen and prompted calls for bans of Thai shrimp, which had been dominating the market.
The major corporations that responded to AP’s queries said they deplore human rights violations and environmental damage and would investigate. “The working conditions are tough,” she said, wiping away tears with the corner of her red sari. “Standing for long hours in the cold while peeling and cutting shrimp takes a toll on my body.”
Many people in India struggle to survive amid endemic poverty, debt and unemployment. The women AP spoke with said this work, despite the oppressive conditions, is their only chance to avoid starvation. The economic drivers go beyond shrimp, and beyond India, to issues of globalization and Western power.
The Corporate Accountability Lab said American importers may never encounter desperate and abused shrimp peelers, because large Indian exporters invite auditors into their own state-of-the-art facilities and use them as a “showcase to foreign buyers.”And while the larger corporate processing facilities appear to meet hygiene and labor standards, CAL said, there are hidden abuses at the onsite hostels where shrimp peelers are housed.
John Ducar, an advisor to the board of Nekkanti Sea Foods, said the company had nothing to do with the peeling shed that AP visited and said their branded truck was there only because it was being leased to another company. He provided a document that said Nekkanti was paid $3,600 for the four-month lease of a truck with the license number the AP observed.The company named in the document did not respond to a request for comment.
“We at Rich Products treat these allegations with the utmost seriousness,” said the owners of frozen SeaPak brand shrimp. “We are always fully prepared to investigate any allegations and take decisive corrective measures in response to any substantiated claims.”Alongside a busy highway last month, men pulled nets of shrimp from shrimp ponds that had been dug into fields and mangroves, destroying critical ecosystems.
“Sadly their predictions came true,” he said. “Our water streams are now polluted, farmland is turning barren, yields are shrinking, and the night air is thick with pollutants.” The Sysco spokesperson said the company suspended receipt of any products from Nekkanti after AP’s query this month, and would immediately begin an investigation.
There are a number of systems failing to prevent shrimp that is produced by forced labor or causes environmental damage from arriving on Americans’ dinner tables. U.S. Customs and Border protection is responsible for blocking imports of products produced with forced labor, and in recent years has prohibited imports of some cotton from China, gold from Democratic Republic of Congo, and sugar from the Dominican Republic. No products have been prohibited from India.
The departments of Labor and Commerce haven’t taken significant action, despite U.S. shrimpers’ complaints of unfair trade. “Any labor abuses in the value chain are abhorrent and they need to be addressed immediately,” said NFI chief strategy officer Gavin Gibbons.
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