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Grueling conditions found in the Indian shrimp industry

India is the top supplier of shrimp to the U.S., with Indian shrimp stocked in freezers at most of the nation’s biggest grocery store and restaurant chains. The Associated Press traveled in February to southeast India to document working conditions in the booming industry after obtaining an advance copy of an investigation released Wednesday by the Chicago-based Corporate Accountability Lab. The human rights legal group found that workers face “dangerous and abusive conditions.”

By Mahesh Kumar A. and Steven Senne / AP

March 20, 2024

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A worker peels shrimp in a tin-roofed processing shed in the hamlet of Tallarevu, in Kakinada district, in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, Sunday, Feb. 11. Dr. Sushmitha Meda, a dermatologist at a nearby government hospital in the city of Kakinada, said she treats four to five shrimp peelers every day for frostbite and infection. It’s a preventable problem, she said. Cotton gloves covered with latex gloves can protect peelers’ hands, but few can afford a $3 box of gloves.
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Workers paid less than $4 a day collect shrimp to peel and process in a processing shed in the hamlet of Tallarevu, Kakinada district, Andhra Pradesh, India, Sunday, Feb. 11. India became America’s leading shrimp supplier, accounting for about 40% of the shrimp consumed in the U.S., after media reports exposed modern day slavery in the Thai seafood industry.
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A worker stands near paddle wheel aerators at a shrimp hatchery in Nagulapally village, Uppada, Kakinada district, Andhra Pradesh, India, Saturday, Feb. 10. Local villagers said the growing shrimp industry hasn’t just brought abusive working conditions, it’s also damaging their environment.
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Shrimp farms, foreground, are seen alongside the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary in Kakinada district, Andhra Pradesh, India, Wednesday, Feb. 14. Official complaints about a lack of environmental impact studies and coastal regulation violations have usually been dismissed by Indian authorities.
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Signs for shrimp hatcheries are displayed on a roadside in Uppada, Kakinada district, Andhra Pradesh, India, Friday, Feb. 9. An investigation released Wednesday, March 20, 2024, by the Chicago-based Corporate Accountability Lab, a human rights legal group, that found workers face “dangerous and abusive conditions.”
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Workers peel shrimp in a tin-roofed processing shed in the hamlet of the Tallarevu, in Kakinada district, in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, Sunday, Feb. 11. India became America’s leading shrimp supplier, accounting for about 40% of the shrimp consumed in the U.S., after media reports including an AP investigation exposed modern day slavery in the Thai seafood industry.
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A worker performs a routine check of shrimp at a hatchery in Nagulapally village, Uppada, Kakinada district, Andhra Pradesh, India, Saturday, Feb. 10.
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Workers peel shrimp in a tin-roofed processing shed in the hamlet of the Tallarevu, in Kakinada district, in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, Sunday, Feb. 11. Indian shrimp is regularly sold in major U.S. stores such as Walmart, Target and Sam’s Club and supermarkets like Kroger, Safeway and Sprouts.
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Harvest of the Sea shrimp packets are displayed on a counter at a Harvest of the Sea exhibit booth at the North American Seafood Expo, Monday, March 11, in Boston. Shrimp pulled from ponds alongside a busy highway in India were loaded into Wellcome KingWhite branded trucks. In the past year, Wellcome KingWhite has exported shrimp to several U.S. companies including Harvest of the Sea.
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A worker throws feed into a pool at a shrimp hatchery at Nagulapally village, Uppada, Kakinada district, Andhra Pradesh, India, Saturday, Feb. 10. Activists say India, the largest supplier of U.S. shrimp, America’s favorite seafood, is polluting the environment through aquaculture.
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Rao Chinnarao, shrimp farmer and political leader, talks about the area's shrimp business during an interview in Kothapally, Kakinada district, Andhra Pradesh, India, Saturday, Feb. 10.
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Penupothula Ratnam, a daily wage shrimp worker, sips tea at her residence in Bhogapuram village, Kakinada district, Andhra Pradesh, India, Wednesday, Feb. 14. Ratnam said she suffers back pain all the time from the arduous work, which pays about $3 a day.
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Penupothula Ratnam, a daily wage shrimp worker, talks about her day-to-day struggles, at her residence in Bhogapuram, Kakinada district, Andhra Pradesh, India, Saturday, Feb. 10. “It’s not enough for our living.” Rarely does she get a day off, she says.
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Erugala Baby, 51, a shrimp worker and a widow, combs her granddaughter's hair at their residence in Bhogapuram, Kakinada district, Andhra Pradesh, India, Saturday, Feb. 10. She says she works in brutal conditions, peeling, cutting and grading shrimp in a factory for less than $4 a day, which is $2 less than minimum wage.
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Erugala Baby, 51, widowed and destitute, wipes tears from her eyes during an interview at her residence in Bhogapuram, Kakinada district, Andhra Pradesh, India, Saturday, Feb. 10. She says she works in brutal conditions, peeling, cutting and grading shrimp in a factory for less than $4 a day, which is $2 less than minimum wage.
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Workers peel shrimp in a tin-roofed processing shed in the hamlet of the Tallarevu, in Kakinada district, in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, Sunday, Feb. 11. 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.
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Workers break for lunch outside a tin-roofed processing shed in the hamlet of the Tallarevu, in Kakinada district, in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, Sunday, Feb. 11.
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Workers load processed shrimp from their tin-roofed processing shed into a truck bearing the name of the Nekkanti Sea Foods company, at the hamlet of Tallarevu, in Kakinada district, in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, Sunday, Feb. 11. Managers at the small shed said Nekkanti and other major brands often outsource the labor-intensive peeling and deveining work to keep down costs. Nekkanti, however, says all its shrimp is processed in a handful of massive company-owned processing facilities approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
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Workers along a highway load shrimp into a Kingwhite Wellcome Fisheries branded truck in Amalapuram, in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, Tuesday, Feb. 13. In the past year Wellcome shipped 3,800 tons of shrimp to the U.S. in the past year, including to distributors Great American Seafood Co, Pacific Coral Seafood and Ore-Cal. The Great American Seafood Co. says on its website that it sells to dozens of food suppliers and supermarket chains, from Sysco and US Foods to Whole Foods and WinCo Foods.
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Workers sort shrimp before loading them onto a Kingwhite Wellcome Fisheries-branded truck on a highway in Amalapuram, Andhra Pradesh, India, Tuesday, Feb. 13.
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People gather near an exhibit booth for India's Marine Products Export Development Authority at the North American Seafood Expo, Monday, March 11, in Boston.
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Frozen shrimp, right, is displayed with other seafood in a freezer at India's Marine Products Export Development Authority exhibit booth at the North American Seafood Expo, Monday, March 11, in Boston. The Marine Products Export Development Authority is an Indian seafood company that exports products to the U.S.
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Frozen breaded shrimp is displayed in a freezer at India's Marine Products Export Development Authority exhibit booth at the North American Seafood Expo, Monday, March 11, in Boston.
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Pradeep Sivaraman, secretary of India's Marine Products Export Development Authority, speaks during an interview at the North American Seafood Expo, Tuesday, March 12, in Boston. Sivaraman says India is committed to providing quality shrimp to U.S. buyers, but did not answer questions about labor and environmental problems.
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Eric Choy, executive director at U.S. Customs and Border Protection's office of trade, speaks during an interview at the North American Seafood Expo, Monday, March 11, in Boston. Choy says the CBP does investigate allegations of abuse. “You’d hope that there was a magic button that you can push and then everything created by forced labor is prohibited from entering, but it’s a much harder task. ... It does require us to follow the trail.”
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Frozen shrimp is displayed at India's Marine Products Export Development Authority exhibit booth at the North American Seafood Expo, Monday, March 11, in Boston.
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Signs displaying shrimp, top, appear at an exhibit booth for CenSea, a frozen seafood importer, at the North American Seafood Expo, Monday, March 11, in Boston. U.S. trade records show the Indian company Nekkanti Sea Foods shipped 726 U.S. tons of farmed shrimp from India to the U.S. in the past year, to major American seafood distributors including AJC International Inc., Eastern Fish, CenSea, Jetro Cash & Carry Enterprises, King & Prince Seafood, Red Chamber Co. and Rich Products Corp. Those companies, in turn, sell Indian shrimp under popular brand names including Costar, Good & Gather, Great Value and Mrs. Friday’s at supermarkets, box stores and restaurants across the U.S.
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Signs displaying shrimp appear on an exhibit booth, left, for CenSea, a frozen seafood importer, at the North American Seafood Expo, Monday, March 11, in Boston. U.S. trade records show the Indian company Nekkanti Sea Foods shipped 726 U.S. tons of farmed shrimp from India to the U.S. in the past year, to major American seafood distributors including AJC International Inc., Eastern Fish, CenSea, Jetro Cash & Carry Enterprises, King & Prince Seafood, Red Chamber Co. and Rich Products Corp. Those companies, in turn, sell Indian shrimp under popular brand names including Costar, Good & Gather, Great Value and Mrs. Friday’s at supermarkets, box stores and restaurants across the U.S.
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Seasoned sautéed shrimp rests in a pan at India's Marine Products Export Development Authority exhibit booth at the North American Seafood Expo, Monday, March 11, in Boston.

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