The Outlaw Ocean Project

The Outlaw Ocean Project

I’m writing to you in light of our latest investigation, which concerns abuses in the Chinese squid fishing industry, and a link we’ve discovered between companies engaged in abuses and your supply chain.

This link concerns a Chinese squid jigger owned by the Chinese fishery company, Rongcheng Wangdao Ocean Aquatic Products. In a seven-month period, one crew member died and a second was disembarked for emergency medical treatment after suffering serious mistreatment and abuse while on board the vessel. Our reporting documents multiple indicators of forced labor among crew onboard the vessel:…

Monica Wallacethe communications agency Ruderfinn

We have removed all products from the suppliers in question from our website while we investigate this matter further. We have a strict supply code of conduct. If we find that any of our suppliers are in violation, we take immediate steps to address the concerns and/or stop selling the products in question.

The Outlaw Ocean Project

Thanks so much for the comment from Weee! We really appreciate their engagement on this, their responsiveness is very helpful and constructive. We also want to be as open as possible with Weee! about our investigation and findings to date, and have additional information to share with Weee!

Overall, we’ve heard from multiple stakeholders at all levels of the squid industry – importers, exporters, squid fishing fleet owners, cold storage owners, processing companies – that there are many places where the catch can get commingled. At the reefer level, after squid is caught by multiple ships, it…

The Outlaw Ocean Project

We were in contact with you earlier this year with media queries for Weee! regarding our investigation into China’s seafood industry. We’re reaching out to you again now with further findings of our research, which concerns the use of forced labor in China’s seafood processing industry, and a link we’ve discovered between a company engaged in abuses and a supplier in Weee!’s supply chain called Dragon Link Ltd.

We have uncovered evidence that the Chinese company Dandong Omeca Food Co. Ltd. used North Korean labor after the December 2019 deadline for the repatriation of overseas North Korean w…

The Outlaw Ocean Project

We last contacted you on September 22, 2023, to highlight findings from our investigation into abuses in China’s seafood industry, as they related to Weee!’s supply chain. In that email, we said: “We have uncovered evidence that the Chinese company Dandong Omeca Food Co. Ltd. used North Korean labor after the December 2019 deadline for the repatriation of overseas North Korean workers required under UN Security Council Resolutions. The import to the U.S. of goods produced by North Koreans is prohibited under United States sanctions.” Under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions…

The Outlaw Ocean Project

As we haven't heard back from you on this, we wanted to check if Weee! had any comment or statement to make at this time? Please let us know by close of business on February 9, 2024.