[The Epoch Times, December 9, 2022](Comprehensive report by Epoch Times reporter Zhang Ting) The United States on Friday (December 9) imposed sanctions on several Chinese entities and individuals in order to punish human rights violations related to China’s illegal ocean fishing . Sanctioned companies include Nasdaq-listed Pingtan Marine Industry Co Ltd.
The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement on its website on Friday that today, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned two individuals, Zhenyu Li and Xinrong Zhuo, as well as the individuals they controlled. A network of entities, including DALIAN OCEAN FISHING CO., Pingtan Marine Enterprise and 8 other affiliated entities.
This is the first time the Treasury Department has sanctioned an entity listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, the statement said.
Additionally, OFAC’s actions included 157 People’s Republic of China (PRC)-flagged fishing vessels associated with these entities.
The statement said the action was taken by Treasury under Executive Order 13818, which builds on and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, targeting perpetrators of gross human rights abuses and corruption around the world . Friday’s actions demonstrate the U.S. government’s efforts to hold real and significant consequences to those who engage in serious human rights abuses, including on vessels that engage in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
“Treasury condemns the conduct of today’s sanctioned targets, which often involve human rights abuses, undermines basic labor and environmental standards, and damages the economic prospects of local populations in the Indo-Pacific region.” Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence “These determinations demonstrate how seriously we take the issue of illegal fishing and our commitment to holding accountable those responsible for serious human rights violations,” said Brian Nelson.
NOAA has indicated that addressing forced labor is particularly challenging in the seafood industry, Treasury said. Vessels sometimes remain at sea for months to years, hampering reporting of labor abuses. Emotional and physical abuse, sometimes resulting in death; excessive overtime; poor living conditions; deceptive or coercive recruitment; .
These sanctions are the latest in an ongoing effort by the U.S. government to stop IUU fishing and related human rights abuses in the international fishing industry.
The Ministry of Finance detailed the human rights abuses of Dalian Ocean Fishery Tuna Fishing Co., Ltd.
As the owner and manager of the 32 fishing vessels, Dalian Ocean Fishery Tuna Fishing Co., Ltd (DOF) is responsible for the daily operations of its fleet, the statement said. In February 2019, a DOF fishing vessel, Longxing 629, went to sea with 24 crew members on board, and will operate in the Pacific Ocean until April 2020. While Longxing 629 was licensed to fish tuna during its voyage, it was also reported to have engaged in illegal shark finning, taking more than 700 kilograms of shark fins, including those of endangered species. Five crew members died after not calling in port for 13 months, working an average of 18 hours a day and subsisting on stale food and brown desalinated seawater. The bodies of three sailors who died at sea were thrown into the sea instead of being sent home. When the surviving crew members returned home, they were diagnosed as malnourished and paid only a fraction of what was promised. They disclosed deceptive recruitment practices, confiscation of identity documents, punitive work and physical abuse.
OFAC therefore imposed sanctions on DOF Chairman and General Manager Li Zhenyu.
Pingtan Marine Industry Co., Ltd.
Cayman Islands-registered Pingtan Marine Enterprises Limited (PME), through its subsidiary, China’s Fujian Province Pingtan County Ocean Fishery Group Co., Ltd. Ltd (Fuzhou Honglong Ocean Fishing Co.), operates a large fleet of nearly 100 fishing and reefer vessels and approximately 2,000 crew members. In 2021, Pingtan Fishery received a $19 million subsidy from the Chinese government to encourage it to develop a distant-water fishing industry to meet China’s demand for seafood. Its vessels have been involved in serious human rights abuses in Indonesia, Timor-Leste and Ecuador, and have been implicated in IUU fishing and other illegal activities.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has therefore imposed sanctions on Zhuo Xinrong, the founder, chairman and CEO of PME.
Responsible editor: Lin Yan#