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After an Associated Press investigation found that hundreds of foreign fishermen laboring on Hawaii’s commercial fleet, state and federal lawmakers are promising to take action. The AP found that the Southeast Asian and Pacific Island men had been confined to the ships for many years without being granted their basic labor rights. The report found that the men were forced to defecate in buckets and lived with bed bugs. Some also suffered from tuberculosis and food shortages, while sometimes being paid only 70 cents per hour and working 22 hours per day. The foreign workers were able to work on U.S. ships without proper visas because they never actually set foot on American soil. Whole Foods has stopped purchasing fish from the commercial fleet and the Hawaii Seafood Council has announced that beginning on October 1, the Honolulu Fish Auction will only let boats who have accepted new standardized contracts to sell their fish. The goal of the new contracts is to specifically prevent forced labor. If lawmakers decided to include boat owners in Hawaiian regulations, there will most likely be an injunction to stop labor on the fleets. Another possible course of action proposed by Rep. Kaniela Ing of Honolulu, would be introducing specific legislation to protect the fishermen.