A photojournalism series documenting the environmental and human impacts of overfishing in Southeast Asia has won the 15thCarmignac Photojournalism Award. Nicole Tung, a photographer based in Istanbul, Türkiye, spent nine months in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines documenting the fishing industry and the toll it’s taking on marine life, fishers and coastal communities.
Fishing labor concerns
In Thailand, Tung “examines how reforms introduced after reports in 2015 on sea slavery led to improved labor conditions—but are now at risk of being rolled back as government ties to the fishing industry grow stronger,” the press release notes.
This investigative series uncovered a massive illegal shark-finning scheme and widespread labor abuses across the fleet of Dalian Ocean Fishing (DOF), a major Chinese tuna company with dozens of boats operating in international waters. Reporters tracked down and interviewed some two dozen Indonesian deckhands who worked aboard the company’s vessels, documenting their experiences with excessive […]
In Samut Sakhon, Thailand, Burmese migrant workers unload hundreds of stingrays for cold storage. A lot of Thailand’s fish and sting rays come from Indonesia since many of Thailand’s own fishing grounds have been overfished. Image © Nicole Tung for Fondation Carmignac.
