A San Diego federal judge on Wednesday declined to dismiss a lawsuit that alleged human trafficking and forced labor violations by Bumble Bee Seafoods, the San Diego-based canned tuna giant, instead ruling the first-of-its-kind case brought by four Indonesian mariners can move forward toward trial.

“This is a historic moment and an incredible victory for the fishers and the ocean,” Sari Heidenreich, senior human rights advisor with Greenpeace USA, which is helping to represent the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “… We celebrate that the fishers will be allowed their day in court, recognizing this is monumental not only for these four men, who are brave enough to stand up to a giant U.S. corporation, but for hundreds of thousands of fishers globally.”

The four plaintiffs, all men from ru

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