Dec. 9 (UPI) -- The U.S. Treasury Department Friday said 157 Chinese fishing vessels, two individuals and 10 companies they control are being sanctioned for alleged human rights abuses aboard the fishing ships.
In a statement, the agency said the sanctions target Li Zhenyu, Xinrong Zhuo and 10 entities they control, including the companies Dalian Ocean Fishing Co., Ltd. and Pingtan Marine Enterprise, Ltd.
"Today's action demonstrates the U.S. government's ongoing effort to impose tangible and significant consequences on those engaged in serious human rights abuse, including on those vessels engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing," the Treasury Department said.
China has the world's largest fishing fleet with as many as 17,000 distant-water vessels, and the U.S. has criticized China for alleged predatory fishing practices.
"Treasury condemns the practices of those sanctioned today, which often involve the abuse of human rights, undermine fundamental labor and environmental standards, and harm the economic prospects of local populations in the Indo-Pacific," said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson in a statement. "These designations demonstrate how seriously we take the problem of illicit fishing and our commitment to holding the perpetrators of serious human rights abuses to account."
Treasury said illegal and unregulated fishing threatens ocean ecosystems and sustainable fisheries. Illegal fishing fleets have a reputation for "rampant abuse of crew members."
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, abuse onboard isolated fishing vessels include "emotional and physical abuse, sometimes resulting in death; excessive overtime; poor living conditions; deceptive or coercive recruiting; and non-payment or underpayment of wages."
Workers onboard some fishing vessels are also subjected to human trafficking, including forced labor, according to NOAA.