The Catch: How Fishing Companies Reinvented Slavery and Plunder the Oceans

by Michael Field

In November 2008, near Kiribati in the Pacific Ocean, a Korean ship came upon a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Tai Ching 21 was eerily silent. The lifeboat and three rafts were missing, and so were all 29 Taiwanese officers and Chinese, Indonesian, and Filipino crew who had been aboard. A quest to discover the identities of the lost men led New Zealand journalist Michael Field into a dark world of foreign-flagged vessels fishing in the ocean as far south as Antarctica. In The Catch he reveals what he horrifying examples of modern slavery in which men from poor countries are trapped on filthy, unsafe ships, treated brutally by captains and officers, and receive little or no pay. The fishing companies Field lays bare are ruthless. Their irresponsible and often illegal fishing practices are stripping the world’s seas and threatening the food supply of people everywhere, propelling us towards one of the environmental tragedies of our times. These stories play out on the waters of New Zealand and the Pacific, but the same practices are happening all over the world. Can we ignore the fates both of these men and the catch they fish for?

Genres: Nonfiction, Journalism

276 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2014

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Field has produced a solid investigation on fisheries in the New Zealand region and abroad. His book shows extensive human rights abuses, slave labour and illegal fishing through the use of shady maneuvers by (mostly) Korean vessels.

This book is comprehensive in its analysis however I feel the length of the later chapters is its only drawback. I encourage anyone with an interesting in New Zealand politics or conservation to read this book as it shows a dark side of New Zealand which is largely ignored.

[Jean Potter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favourite genre. Interesting and very depressing. Difficult to finish.

[David Carriere · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Catch is a sobering and meticulously reported exposé that pulls readers into the hidden world of modern slavery at sea. Michael Field’s investigative work uncovers the brutal realities faced by migrant deckhands men who vanish without a trace, work without pay, and endure violence, starvation, and dehumanizing conditions aboard foreign-flagged vessels. With crisp journalism and unflinching clarity, Field shows how global fishing companies have built profit empires on exploitation while accelerating ecological destruction.

The disappearance of the Tai Ching 21 becomes the book’s haunting entry point, leading readers through a labyrinth of illegal fishing networks, corrupt ownership structures, and depleted oceans. Field’s reporting is urgent, deeply human, and globally relevant, making The Catch an important contribution to environmental and human-rights literature.

[Karen Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real eye opener about the fishing industry in New Zealand

[Keen Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although Field is based in NZ and this book focuses mostly in and around NZ waters, his concerns and work has greater implications for the wider world. With this book he primarily but not exclusively focuses on Korean fishing vessels, particularly Oyang 70 and Oyang 75. Field and his inquisitive co-horts step up to the plate, speaking out and challenging the frankly shocking state of slave fishing ships that exist within New Zealand’s waters and beyond in the 21st Century.

This is a story of shell companies, rampant reflagging, a tale of murderous, incompetent crew members, debt bondage, lying, cheating agents in business with corrupt, major, international fishing companies with everyone happy to take their slice of profit but without taking any responsibility for the welfare or treatment of the people who made it. We learn of agents who confiscate passports, whilst demanding inflated fees, using false contracts and doctored time sheets and who willingly threaten and intimidate families and employees.

The captains of these ships regularly use physical and mental abuse, often feeding crew members nothing more than fish bait and making them use sea water to bathe in as they are kept at sea for months at a time. There are also many cases where crew members have died in awful and bizarre circumstances, in one fatal case, a coroner in NZ chose to censor a victim’s letter to the NZ people as they didn’t want anyone to be seen speaking out against the NZ government.

We learn of insane legal loopholes, he uses the example of a NZ vessel, catching x amount of squid, which would normally incur a $369 900 tariff, but if it is caught from a Korean vessel under charter to a NZ company then the tariff magically disappears but not only that, it can legally be labelled PRODUCE OF NZ even though no one from NZ has touched it and it has never actually been in NZ.

Field also casts his net into the realms of pirate tooth fishing in the Ross Sea and he fingers some of the guilty parties elsewhere like Sanford with close links to the National Party of NZ who were found guilty of dumping waste and trying to cover it up and fined a total of over $2 Million. Although the Koreans appear to be the worst offenders in the region he also singles out the actions of the Spanish, French, Chinese, Russian and Ukrainian fleets and governing bodies who have also been less than squeaky clean.

Overall this is a thoroughly gripping read that exposes many maritime horrors that are rarely if ever, mentioned elsewhere in mainstream media. Field writes with a flowing and engaging accessibility that will anger and fascinate you in equal measure. This is a highly important book and truly essential reading for anyone with even the slightest interest in the human rights and environmental aspect.