An upcoming world congress by the Catholic organization Apostleship of the Sea will focus on the plight of fishermen, who frequently face exploitation in carrying out their work, according to one Vatican official.
He lamented that no ‘Fair Trade’ certification exists for their product.
“We have to be educated,” Fr. Bruno Ciceri told CNA Sept. 20. “Frozen food here is cheap, but it’s because people are exploited, because there is forced labor, because there are trafficked people that work aboard these fishing vessels.”
Referring to the label given to products from developing countries that adhere to ethical standards of trading, he said, “We talk a lot about ‘Fair Trade.’ I don't know the day when we will have ‘fair trade’ also in fishing. That will make a difference.”
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In general though, the challenges are the same affecting the whole of the industry, he pointed out, including poor working conditions and wage and labor exploitation, such as what happens between fishermen and brokers.
For example, Fr. Ciceri said one situation that is common is when a broker will contract fishermen with a promise of a certain salary. Of this, maybe only 20 percent is given directly to the fisherman and 80 percent will be held by the broker, only to be given over after the fisherman has completed a three year contract. If he leaves before this, he loses everything.
So the fishing industry needs to “clean up their act,” he said, but so does the buyer – the big companies that buy the fish to import.
One thing the Apostleship of the Sea tries to do, he said, is ensure that big companies are checking their supply lines and guaranteeing that they are not profiting from forced labor or other violations.
“Often these companies just make sure that there are all of the hygienic things… but they don't consider the people,” Fr. Ciceri said. “While for us as the Church, people are important. Fish are important, but people are more important.”
Sometimes you will read on cans of tuna that it has been caught without “hurting any turtles or without killing any dolphins,” he said. “Thanks very much, but what about the fishermen?”
“But that is not considered. I think there should be a sort of balance on these things. It's true that we have to worry about the fish and other things, but we have to worry also about the people.”
For the average person who wants to do something, he continued, even the awareness of these practices, and why the products may be so cheap, is a good first step.
“It's true that we would always like to save money,” but maybe sometimes we could consider buying the more expensive product that we know pays people justly.
What a great question: "what about the fishermen?"
Being a follower of Christ, Fr. Bruno Ciceri should take this opportunity to speak directly to the fishermen about the original group of fishermen who became Christ's disciples, teaching them the Gospel, converting them, and turning them into fishers of men. Then not only will there be new groups of men to spread the love of Christ, there will also be a shortage of fishermen as a result, at which point market forces of demand and supply will come into play, requiring the payment of higher wages to do their work, which is exactly what Fr. Ciceri wants. He should therefore stop lamenting and actually do the work of Christ!
[1] http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/vatican-official-laments-lack-of-fair-trade-label-for-commercial-fishing-14802/
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