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Dying for Your Dinner

Dying for Your Dinner

Published 06-26-03

Submitted by Environmental Justice Foundation

LONDON, UK -- Poor communities of developing nations are suffering a range of human rights abuses, including land seizure, sexual abuse, rape, child labour, forced labour and murder, because of Western demand for farmed shrimp according to a new report released today by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF). “Smash & Grab: Conflict, Corruption and Human Rights Abuses in the Shrimp Farming Industry” describes these abuses and calls for urgent remedial action.

“The human rights abuses associated with this industry are widespread and serious. People are becoming poorer and hungrier and some have been killed as a direct consequence of Western demand for farmed shrimp,“ said Steve Trent, director of the EJF. “With sales of US$50-60 billion shrimp farming is big business, but the true cost is paid by the poor and vulnerable in developing countries where shrimp are farmed” continued Trent. The abuses reported in “Smash & Grab” include:

  • Land seizure and displacement of tens of thousands of people

  • Pollution of agricultural land and drinking water supplies with chemicals and salt

  • Violent intimidation directed towards traditional users of coastal resources

  • Murders directly linked to the industry in at least 11 countries and over 150 deaths in Bangladesh alone.

  • Sexual abuse, including rape, by shrimp farm guards and processing plant employees

  • Child labour, including exposure to chemicals, icy conditions, and long periods in water.

  • Official corruption and profiteering
Shrimp farming has led to serious conflict over land rights and access to natural resources. Resulting social problems include increased poverty, landlessness, and reduced food security. In Ecuador, a single hectare of mangrove forest has been shown to provide food and livelihood for ten families, while a prawn farm of 110 hectares employs just six people during preparation and a further five during harvest. Globally, tens of thousands of rural poor in developing countries have been displaced following the impact of shrimp farming on traditional livelihoods. For instance, 20 thousand fisher-folk in Sri Lanka’s Puttalam District migrated following declines of fish catches following the advent of shrimp farming.

Wealth generated by exporting farmed shrimp rarely trickles down to the communities affected by the industry. Corruption, poor governance and greed have resulted in powerful individuals making vast sums of money from shrimp farming with little regard for the basic human rights of the poor communities living in shrimp farming areas. “It is another example of resource-use conflict in which the poor and vulnerable are suppressed by a powerful elite intent on making quick profits, whilst turning a blind eye to the abuses that result” said Dr Mike Shanahan of EJF.

“Most shrimp farmed in developing countries are eaten in Europe, the USA and Japan. Consumers in these countries must be made aware that when they eat shrimp they may be dining on a delicacy responsible for hunger, suffering, and death,” said Steve Trent.

Further information or copies of “Smash & Grab: Conflict, , Corruption and Human Rights Abuses in the Shrimp Farming Industry” contact Steve Trent or Dr Mike Shanahan on: + 44 (0) 20 7359 0440. strent@ejfoundation.org, or download the report directly from www.ejfoundation.org/smash.html. Video News Release and a CD of high quality colour images available.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Shrimp farming is worth US$6.9 billion at the farm gate and US$50-60 billion at the point of retail.

Shrimp are farmed in about 50 countries - the leading ten producers in 2000 were Thailand, China, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Ecuador, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Mexico and Brazil,

About 1/3 of prawns eaten each year are farmed. Over 99% of farmed prawns come from developing countries, produced for export largely to the USA, Western Europe and Japan.

Child labour in the industry has been reported from Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Peru, Ecuador and Burma (Myanmar). Child labourers in processing units are exposed to chemicals, cold conditions and suffer cuts to hands and feet which can rapidly become infected due to the unsanitary conditions. Children collecting shrimp fry to stock shrimp farms in Bangladesh spend up to 13 hours in and around water. Many suffer skin and respiratory disorders as a consequence.

Murders directly linked to the industry have occurred in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Brazil, Ecuador, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh and the Philippines.

In many countries, large areas of mangrove forests have been cleared for shrimp farm construction. Loss of mangroves, which are important habitats for many species of fish and shellfish, has resulted in declines of these resources leaving coastal communities with reduced food security and potential for income generation.

In Ecuador, in 2000, it was reported in the daily newspaper “Hoy” that prawn exporters with incomes over US$591 million paid just US$47,450 in taxes

Shrimp farm development has resulted in displacement of tens of thousands of poor people, often to overcrowded cities. For example, 20,000 (20 thousand) fisher-folk from Sri Lanka’s Puttalam district; 120,000 (120 thousand) from farmland in Satkhira, Bangladesh; 48,000 (48 thousand) in just 3 years in Andhra Pradesh, India; 3000 families recently displaced in Brazil, and thousands of families from Ecuador’s Esmeraldas Province.

Pollution of wells with salt and chemicals from shrimp farms forces women in India and Bangladesh to walk 5-6 km daily in search of drinking water. Children often miss school to help their mothers in the daily search for food and water following declines in availability due to the advent of shrimp farming.

Agricultural land has been converted into shrimp farms, reducing local food availability whilst producing shrimp for export. In Vettapalem, India, 1000 hectares of rice fields that previously fed 10,000 (ten thousand) families were lost to shrimp farm development and associated salt pollution. In Vietnam’s Ca Mau province, conversion of rice fields to prawn farms resulted in a drop in harvest of 460,000 tonnes

In 2001, the UK imported 83,196 metric tonnes of shrimp worth over £353 million. 43% of shrimp imported were from Asia and Oceania. In 1999, 40% of shrimp imported into the UK were warm-water shrimp.

The terms ‘shrimp’ and ‘prawn’ can be used interchangeably. The Environmental Justice Foundation makes no distinction between the two.

Environmental Justice Foundation

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