55 Indonesian Fishers Died at Sea, Only 4 Probed
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- Christina Stringer and Sallie Yea examined 55 cases of Indonesian migrant fishers who died or went missing on East Asian distant water fishing vessels from 2015 to 2022, attributing deaths to unsafe working conditions (12), delayed medical care (10), denied medical care (9), preventable dehydration and malnutrition (5), torture or violence (2), and suicide (2).
- 15 of the 55 deaths had no reported cause, and only four investigations into the deaths of any of the deceased fishers were ever recorded, the researchers found, exposing critical gaps in mandatory death reporting and jurisdictional accountability.
- Using the framework of necropolitics, the researchers argue that isolation at sea enables the 'systematic disposability' of migrant workers, with death becoming a structural outcome when profit maximization supersedes worker rights and regulatory oversight is absent.
- Sugiama, a 22-year-old Indonesian fisherman, was found dead in his bunk in 2019 aboard a Taiwanese vessel eight days from the nearest landmass, after working an 18-hour shift and being struck across the head for not working fast enough.
- The researchers call for 'directly challenging the power structures that allow captains to make life-and-death decisions with impunity,' noting that vessels operating outside regulatory oversight let companies and captains evade accountability.
- Stringer and Yea's next research project will investigate the long-term impacts on families left behind, including economic hardship and legal battles for compensation, with implications for accountability in the sector.
Why it matters: The study exposes a regulatory vacuum in East Asian distant water fishing: 55 deaths over seven years produced just four investigations and 15 unreported causes, allowing companies and captains to operate with near-total impunity. For the families of deceased fishers, this translates into years of economic hardship and legal battles for compensation with minimal recourse against employers who face no meaningful consequences.
