Executive Summary
- A U.S. federal court has denied Bumble Bee’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit, allowing a case brought by four Indonesian fishers alleging forced labor to proceed.
- The lawsuit, filed under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, claims the fishers were subjected to forced labor on vessels within Bumble Bee’s tuna supply chain.
- The court found the plaintiffs presented sufficient allegations and that Bumble Bee likely had notice of the prevalence of forced labor on its supplying vessels.
A U.S. federal district court in Southern California has ruled that a lawsuit filed by four Indonesian fishers against tuna brand Bumble Bee, alleging they were victims of forced labor, can proceed. The judgment, released on November 12, 2025, denies the company’s motion to dismiss the case, allowing the plaintiffs’ allegations to be heard in court.
The lawsuit, Akhmad v. Bumble Bee Foods LLC, was filed in March 2025 under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA). The four plaintiffs allege they endured years of forced labor while working on fishing vessels that supplied tuna to the U.S. company. The case is one of a few TVPRA supply chain lawsuits to advance past the initial motion to dismiss stage.
In its ruling, the court found that the fishers presented sufficient allegations of forced labor. According to the court, Bumble Bee did not contest that the fishers were subjected to forced labor. The judge noted that Bumble Bee “likely had ‘notice about the prevalence’ of forced labor on the vessels from which it sourced tuna, ‘failed to take adequate steps to train staff in order to prevent its occurrence,’” and had an “active role in obtaining albacore tuna from the vessels on which Plaintiffs were subject to forced labor,” which it then resold for profit.
Syafi’i, one of the plaintiffs in the case, expressed hope following the decision. “This gives me hope for justice for me and my fellow plaintiffs as we struggle for justice and change for the better,” he said in a statement. “Our fight and sacrifice are not in vain in order to get justice for all of the fishers.”
Advocacy group Greenpeace, whose research was cited in the legal filings and the judge’s ruling, called the decision a historic moment. “By allowing this case to move ahead, the court has given these fishers’ voices the space they deserve,” said Sari Heidenreich, Senior Human Rights Advisor for Greenpeace USA. The group stated that the ruling affirms that U.S. companies have a responsibility to ensure their supply chains are free from labor abuses.
The case will now move forward in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California before Chief Judge Cynthia Bashant. The lawsuit contains allegations that have not yet been proven in a court of law.