The Explainer x Noteworthy: Are migrant fishers exploited in Ireland?

“I was sleeping in the boat the whole time, even [though] my contract said that my employer should be providing a flat… We had to eat leftover meat and fish on the boat.”

That is how Rene*, a fisher from the Philippines spoke about his experience working on a fishing vessel off Ireland, in the latest in-depth series by investigative platform Noteworthy.

The cross-border project found that human trafficking of migrant fishers continues, seven years after the issue was first exposed in Ireland.

Maria Delaney, editor of Noteworthy, was joined by reporters Geela Garcia in the Philippines and Louise Lawless in Ireland to examine exploitation in the Irish fishing industry. The team worked on this for the past six months, with support from Journalismfund.eu’s Modern Slavery Unveiled grant programme.

In our HANDS ON DECK series, we found migrant fishers who left vessels due to exploitative treatment were ‘ignored’ in recent cross-departmental review, with experts saying that the Irish justice system is ‘failing’ migrant fishing workers who report exploitation.

This week, as a bonus episode of The Explainer brought to you by Noteworthy, Susan Daly chats with Delaney and Garcia about the their findings.

*Name has been changed

RELATED READS

• Irish justice system ‘failing’ migrant fishing workers who report exploitation
• ‘We had to eat leftover meat and fish’: Modern slavery in the Irish fishing industry

This episode was put together by Susan Daly, Maria Delaney and producer Laura Byrne.