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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