Hawaii’s seven-member Board of Land and Natural Resources unanimously rejected a petition Friday to amend its rules for issuing licenses to undocumented foreign fishermen.
The petition, filed by five Hawaii residents, followed an investigation by the Associated Press that revealed instances of human trafficking, low pay and poor working conditions aboard some of the approximately 140 vessels that make up the Hawaii-based longline fishing fleet.
The petitioners hoped that their proposed rule changes would prevent abuses aboard the vessels or at least increase transparency about the conditions of employment, but Land Board members struggled during the two-hour hearing to understand how the proposals would translate into improved conditions for the fishermen.
“I’m completely sympathetic with the wishes of the petitioners to have improved labor conditions and make sure fishermen are protected by some kind of decent labor laws,” said board member Chris Yuen toward the end of the hearing. “I am going to move to deny the petition because I don’t see how the proposal would fix the problem. It would provide some additional information that is very similar to what DLNR already receives. And for the fishermen to have better information about what the license application says is not likely to help their lives very much.”
The petition, in part, sought to require vessel officials to provide the Department of Land and Natural Resources with a list of all foreign fishermen who lack landing privileges in Hawaii, as well as contact information for any translators who may be assisting fishermen with their applications. The petition also proposed requiring foreign fishermen who aren’t allowed to set foot on U.S. soil to furnish a copy of all documents issued to them by the U.S. government.
DLNR already collects contact information for the fishermen, including information about their immigration status. Applicants must provide their passports and documentation from the Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection.
The Land Board’s rejection of the petition follows a recommendation by
DLNR’s Division of Aquatic Resources to deny the petition, primarily because the department lacks jurisdiction over the labor issues the petition was seeking to address. The department is responsible for managing fisheries and tracks the catch that is brought into Honolulu Harbor.
While board members rejected the petition, they said they welcomed dialogue on the issue and hoped the reported labor abuses will be addressed by the appropriate agencies. They reiterated that they were open to collaborating with other agencies to address the labor problems.
“I am hopeful that we can find the solution, and to the extent that the Land Board and state rules and regulations can help ameliorate this problem or mitigate the observed findings, I would be all for that,” said board member Sam Gon. “I look forward to this coming legislative session and staff’s investigation of the issues and what solutions might be arrived at.”
Members of Hawaii’s congressional delegation have signaled that they are looking into the issue and working with federal agencies to address any labor abuses.
Hawaii’s longline fleet, which brings in ahi and swordfish to Honolulu piers, is exempt from a federal law that requires
75 percent of crew members on fishing boats to be U.S. workers.
The loophole allows the foreign fishermen to work without visas, but they are not allowed to set foot on shore. As a result, the AP investigation found that some fishermen have been confined to boats for years, sometimes under harsh and dangerous working conditions.
The petition was filed by Kathryn Xian, executive director of the Pacific Alliance to Stop Slavery; Larry Geller, who runs a local blog called Disappeared News; Michael Gagne; Karen Chun; and Cory Harden.
Supporters of the petition vigorously defended the petition during the hearing.
“The key point here is none of this could be possible without the state issuing state fishing licenses to these people,” said Xian.
Geller expressed frustration about the slow pace of government officials to address the labor abuses described in the AP’s investigation, published in September.
“Conditions are the same,” Geller told the board. “Nothing has changed aboard the boats.”
