My name is Ian Urbina and I’m the director of The Outlaw Ocean Project, a journalism non-profit based in Washington D.C. that publishes stories about human rights and environmental issues connected with the sea.

I’m writing to you in light of our latest investigation, which concerns the Chinese squid fishing industry, and a link we’ve discovered between abuses in that industry and Rongcheng Haibo Ocean Food Co. Ltd.’s supply chain.

This link concerns a Chinese squid jigger owned by Rongcheng Wangdao Ocean Aquatic Products. In a seven-month period between August 2020 and March 2021, one cr…

Regarding the issues raised in the investigation report of The Outlaw Ocean Project, our company hereby states as follows:

1. Rongcheng Wangdao Ocean Aquatic Products is a subsidiary of Shandong Jiekou Fishery Group Co., Ltd., 100% owned by Jiekou Group. Not any subsidiary of Chishan Group. There is no relationship between Rongcheng Wangdao Ocean Aquatic Products and Chishan Group. In addition, there is no any business relationship between Rongcheng Haibo Seafood Co., Ltd. and Rongcheng Wangdao Ocean Aquatic Products. We never purchased any raw materials from Rongcheng Wangdao Ocean Aquatic P…

Thank you very much for your email and for your statements. We have additional information regarding points you raised in that statement:

1. The statement says that there is no relationship between Rongcheng Wangdao and The Chishan Group, however transshipment data indicates otherwise. Three of Rongcheng Wangdao’s fishing vessels have transshipped with reefers owned by Rongcheng Chishan Ocean Fishery over the past five years – two of those interactions were as recent as 2022. The ships involved were: A. The Lu Rong Yuan Yu 186 鲁荣远渔186 (registered to Rongcheng Wangdao since 2018) has transship…

I wrote to Rongcheng Haibo Ocean Food Co. Ltd. earlier this year regarding our research into the Chinese squid fishing industry, and I am contacting you again with regard to findings we’ve made concerning forced labor.

Rongcheng Haibo has received multiple groups of workers from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China under the government’s labor transfer program. The United Nations, human rights organizations and academic experts agree that since 2018, the Chinese government has systematically subjected Xinjiang’s predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities to forc…

Regarding the Chishan Group website article involving the use of Xinjiang workers issues in Rongcheng Haibo company

In order to improve the quality of life of employees and exchange typical practices of internal enterprises, an article was published in the general issue of Chishan Daily on September 22, 2022, reporting the practices of Haibo Company that treating Xinjiang workers well and ensure their quality of life. The relevant situation involved in the report is hereby clarified as follows:

First the report misidentified the employer as “Haibo Company”. The objective fact is that the mai…

Dear Bob, Wayne, and Rongcheng Haibo:

Thank you for your letter dated October 6, 2023, and for continuing to engage with regard to our ongoing investigation.

We have been in ongoing conversation with Lund’s since January 23, 2023, when we had a Zoom meeting with the company’s CEO and seven of its staff, during which we explained our findings and methodology, and fielded your questions. In the subsequent eight months, we replied fully to your company’s emails seeking further input from us, and sent you additional questions. We took a similar approach with Haibo, which we contacted by registe…

Dear Ian Urbina:

Please allow me to introduce myself, Guogang Li, a lawyer from Tahota (Beijing) Law Firm (please see Attachment 1 for my biography), entrusted by Haibo Seafood Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Haibo”, please see Attachment 2 for the Power of Attorney) and Shandong Haidu Ocean Product Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Haidu”, please see Attachment 3 for the Power of Attorney). I would like to send the following comments below to you regarding the report in the “Outlaw Ocean Project” related to the Uyghur laborers in the seafood processing factories for your consideration.

I. Among the laborers…

Dear Mr. Guogang Li,

Thank you for your letter from November 6, 2023. This letter comes as the latest in a series of exchanges in which representatives at Rongcheng Haibo Seafood Co., Ltd. and/or Shandong Haidu Ocean Product Co. Ltd have claimed that no Xinjiang workers have been at the plants. You can review that back-and-forth for Haibo and [Haidu](https://www.theoutlawocean.com/investigations/china-the-superpower-of-seafood/discussion/#shandong-haidu-ocean-product-co-…

As part of our ongoing investigation of global seafood, we have questions for Rongcheng Haibo arising from research we conducted about a certain plant that was recently formed.

We’ve received information from a source in China that this company named Shandong Nabaixian is either the same plant as one previously called Rongcheng Haibo, or is very closely affiliated with Rongcheng Haibo. The source has had direct dealings with Shandong Nabaixian. We also checked various trade and company databases and found that this company called Shandong Nabaixian was created in October 2023 and that it was…

Your email has been well received. Thank you for contacting us. We are pleased to address your questions and provide the following response:

Regarding your first question about the relationship between Shandong Nabaixian and Rongcheng Haibo, we respond as follows: Rongcheng Haibo has no relationship with Shandong Nabaixian.

Additionally, regarding your second question what seafood this plant produces, and who it ships to in the U.S. and Europe, please note that under the Chinese law, legal entities operate independently. This plant operates independently, and information about its products…

Thank you for your prompt reply. Regarding your further questions, we respond as follows:

Firstly, the registered address of Rongcheng Haibo is No. 599, Eshishan Industrial Park, Rongcheng, Weihai City, Shandong Province. Based on our online search, the registered address of Shandong Nabaixian is No.89 North Road of Longyue, Dongshan Street, Rongcheng, Weihai City, Shandong, P.R. China. The addresses of the two companies mentioned above are not at the same location, nor could they be in the same building. Please note that they are two independent and distinct companies.

Secondly, regarding t…

Thank you again for your quick response to our questions. 

Additional indicators, including maps of the area, point to connections between Shandong Nabaixian and Rongcheng Haibo and Chishan Group: 

1. We have mapped the street addresses for the two companies Haibo and Nabaixian and the addresses do indeed appear to indicate the same site; North Longyue Road runs along one side of the site, while Eshishan Road runs along another side of the site. 
2. According to Chishan Group’s website here as well as logo design proposal details published…

Thank you for your reply again. We are surprised by the conclusions you have drawn from the content of your email.

First, we are shocked by your statement that the two companies you mentioned are considered the same company because they are located on the same street. While there are several seafood companies on that street, it does not imply that these companies are owned by Chishan Group or Rongcheng Haibo. Drawing the conclusion that different companies on the same street are therefore owned by the same company is entirely inconsistent with the actual situation.

Second, a brand name is no…