From sea slaves to slime lines: Commodification and unequal ecological exchange in global marine fisheries

Abstract

Socioecological transformations of marine systems are intimately connected to the structure of the global capitalist economy, including its relationships of unequal exchange and the international division of labor. We highlight how unequal economic and ecological exchange are intertwined in fishing production in Southeast Asia, in particular Thailand, where capital receives more value in labor power and ecological wealth and services for less. In order to suppress production costs, slave labor is used to harvest fish, and child and migrant labor is employed in processing plants. These operations supply fish for the global market, with the largest shares flowing to Europe and the United States. As seafood production shifts with the ongoing growth of aquaculture, the depletion of target fish, and the expansion in the production of fishmeal and fish oil, the relationships that connect slave labor, slime lines, environmental degradation, and the depletion of marine systems become more embedded within a system predicated on the constant accumulation of capital that creates global social and ecological inequalities.