NEW Zealand is to hold an official inquiry into the mis-treatment of fishing crews on foreign-owned vessels operating around its shores.
There has been growing concern that some trawlers have become little more than slave ships after claims that Indonesian and other South Asian fishermen on at least two South Korean boats were beaten, sexually abused and denied their rightful wages.
The crews walked off the ships in protest when they dock in New Zealand ports. The South Korean owners have denied the allegations. Now the New Zealand Government has agreed to set up a Ministerial inquiry which has been welcomed by the country's fishing industry.The New Zealand Seafood Industry Council issued a statement saying it supported the Government’s terms of reference into the Ministerial inquiry monitoring labour conditions and general compliance of foreign-owned fishing vessels operating in New Zealand waters.
New Zealand Seafood Industry Council chief executive Peter Bodeke added: “The terms of reference announced by the Government are comprehensive and wide ranging The terms of reference set a clear path for examining all the issues and allegations about practices on board some foreign-owned vessels.” Mr Bodeker said the industry would participate fully in the Ministerial inquiry and is keen to see the inquiry get underway.
“We look forward to the Government moving on the inquiry which will be critical in helping establish the facts in relation to general compliance and labour practices on board foreign vessels and credibly identify any need for change or improvement. It will also provide advice on the role of foreign charter vessels,” says Mr Bode.
Some fishing unions have called for an even wider inquiry into New Zealand's entire fishing industry and to include job losses among local crews.
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