As Taiwan marks World Fisheries Day, some say more needs to be done to enforce safety laws to cut down on the number of often deadly but largely preventable accidents at sea.
00:01For five years, Indonesian fisher Yatin Raudin has plied the waters off Taiwan.
00:06He's one of the roughly 30,000 foreign nationals that crew Taiwan's fishing fleet.
00:11Unlike some of his countrymen who've reportedly suffered abuse and forced labor, he's had it fairly good.
00:16He gets his pay on time, and he's treated okay by his captain.
00:20But on November 6th, after setting out from Badold's report on the north coast, his boat capsized.
00:26When I was pulling in the net, the boat suddenly tilted to one side.
00:32A big wave came from behind.
00:34Water flooded into the boat.
00:36Then it leaned over to the side.
00:38That happened twice.
00:40The crew grabbed life jackets.
00:42For an hour or so, they were at the mercy of the sea until another boat rescued them.
00:46His was one of two boats to flip over that day.
00:50One captain died, and the Coast Guard says five people are still missing.
00:54He's not the only foreign fisher recently saved by a life jacket.
00:58Fellow Indonesian Endang Sudarno had been fishing in Taiwan for around three years, until a fire broke out on his ship in October.
01:06I don't know exactly what happened.
01:10We were all sleeping when smoke started filling our sleeping area on the boat.
01:14We all ran outside, looked for a place without smoke, grabbed life-saving equipment like life jackets and floats,
01:20and the eight of us jumped into the sea.
01:22No one was hurt, but he's quit working for now, leaving him to live on savings until he can get back to Indonesia.
01:28There are some of the lucky ones.
01:30The Maritime and Port Authority says around 45% of marine accidents reported from 2021 to this October involved fishing boats.
01:40And the Taiwan Transportation Safety Board, which probes serious accidents at sea, says that 29 of the 34 deaths it's investigated over the last few years involved fishing boats.
01:50Some people who work with migrant fishers see lax enforcement of safety standards as one reason for the high number of accidents.
01:57One activist says there are a number of dangers.
02:00Half-hazard wiring held together with waterproof tape.
02:03Navigation systems not always switched on when they should be.
02:06But one common issue is life jackets.
02:09Allyson Lee is the leader of a fishers' union in Ilan County, further down.
02:37the coast.
02:40She can remember a string of deadly accidents, including one where a boat capsized near Japan in 2019.
02:46Life jackets were found floating on the sea, but no crew.
02:49So she pays extra attention to life jackets when inspecting ships.
02:53I asked them, where do you put on the ship?
02:56Oh, where do you put on the ship?
02:57Do you put on the ship?
02:58Do you put on the ship?
02:59Do you put on the ship?
03:00Oh, there.
03:01We have.
03:02We have.
03:03We have.
03:04We have.
03:05Where are we?
03:06Where are we?
03:07In the ship?
03:08Where are we?
03:09Where are we?
03:10Where are we?
03:11Where are we?
03:12Still, even with the state of Taiwan's fleet, Lee believes 80% of accidents are preventable, or could be, if laws were properly enforced.
03:20The agencies in charge say they've been making improvements.
03:23The fisheries agency told Taiwan Plus it's helping conduct random spot checks, and it's also subsidizing navigation safety systems for smaller boats that technically don't have to have them.
03:35And the maritime port bureau says it's been working on stopping fires, most of which start in engine rooms.
03:40Since 2018, it's required non-flammable hulls and decks, and fireproofing in engine rooms and living quarters.
03:47But some lawmakers agree with activists that stricter enforcement is needed.
03:52He says this will take cooperation across several government agencies and departments.
04:09But for fishers like Yatin Raudin, they feel they'll have to look after themselves.
04:14Yes, you really have to be prepared on your own.
04:21I mean, you never know when an accident might happen, so you have to be ready yourself.
04:26The other fishers here have been mostly lucky so far.
04:29They'll look to themselves to stay that way out on the water until safety standards are up to scratch.
04:35Devon Tsai, Luffy Lee, and John Van Trieste for Taiwan Plus.
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