Home State Jurisdiction over Corporate Harms at Sea in Fisheries in Southeast Asia

Modern slavery in capture fisheries persists not only through abusive practices on board fishing vessels, but also through a wider network of corporate actors that sustain such operations, notably those engaged in offshore transshipment. In Asia, where these actors operate across jurisdictional boundaries, many fall outside the reach of existing legal frameworks. This article examines the role of home state jurisdiction in regulating corporate involvement in modern slavery at sea, focusing on transshipment and other fishing-related activities. It argues that the current law of the sea regime, anchored in flag and coastal state jurisdiction, leaves accountability gaps when those states fail to act. The article contends that home states have a duty to protect against human rights abuses committed by their nationals abroad, and that this duty extends extraterritorially in its prescriptive reach, is assessed through a due diligence standard, and is operationalized through domestic enforcement measures.