Southeast Asia's Shrinking Catch Puts Food, Jobs and Coastal Traditions at Risk

From Palawan to Lombok, the pressure reaches shore

Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing accounts for roughly one in five fish caught in the wild worldwide and generates up to US$36.4 billion in illicit profits each year. Across Southeast Asia, that trade intersects with shrinking catches, damaged reefs, dangerous work and a changing climate, putting pressure on the seas that support coastal families and global seafood markets.

Off Rizal in Palawan, Filipino crews describe being shadowed and chased by Chinese coastguard, navy and militia vessels. At Tanjung Luar in East Lombok, rows of sharks and rays arrive ashore, including species considered threatened. In Thailand, migrant workers unload seafood for cold storage while factories turn small fish and bycatch, the animals caught alongside a target species, into animal feed.

Asian fisheries and aquaculture together provide more than half of global production from wild catch and farming. Yet researchers estimate that 64 percent of Asian fisheries face medium to high risk. In the western central Pacific and eastern Indian Ocean, illegal, unreported and unregulated catches can exceed one third of recorded catch.

Weak enforcement, corruption and unresolved maritime disputes help sustain that activity, often shortened to IUU fishing. An overview of illegal fishing describes the economic and environmental damage concentrated in Asian waters.

The costs reach beyond lost fish. Forced labor and trafficking have been documented aboard fishing vessels. Discarded nets injure wildlife. Declining landings squeeze factories and household budgets, while some places that once depended on local catches increasingly rely on imports. From the market floors of General Santos to factories in Bitung and the ancestral waters of indigenous communities, the crisis concerns food, work, sovereignty and culture.

Disputed waters also contain damaged nurseries

Filipino fishers near Palawan face a problem that catch limits alone cannot resolve: access to fishing grounds. Crews fear that installations near Sabina Shoal will strengthen control over waters used for fishing and shipping. Confrontations with Chinese vessels make the search for fish more dangerous.

Reefs caught within these disputes are also nurseries where fish find food and shelter. Scientific work has documented extensive damage from large scale dredging and the harvesting of giant clams for building materials. One assessment identified at least 160 square kilometers of coral reef damage in disputed areas.

That assessment included 17 square kilometers permanently lost to filling and harbor construction, alongside more than 140 square kilometers suffering longer term damage from dredging and clam extraction. The reef damage assessment also considers cooperative approaches to protecting these waters.

Destroyed habitat leaves fewer places for fish to grow, weakening local food supplies and pushing boats farther into contested areas. Marine scientists and policy specialists have proposed a peace park and joint resource management around the Spratly area, together with a freeze on provocative construction. Their proposal connects reducing tension with rebuilding ecosystems that sustain fisheries and protect coasts.

General Santos faces a problem with young tuna

General Santos in the southern Philippines calls itself the tuna capital. Traders examine valuable fish destined for Tokyo, Seoul and Los Angeles, while industrial purse seine vessels unload smaller, juvenile tuna for canneries. Local officials and campaigners acknowledge that too many young fish are being caught and that monitoring gaps weaken protections.

Demand for sushi and canned tuna keeps fleets traveling farther and staying at sea longer as fish become smaller and scarcer. One veteran fisherman described a shift from catching large fish near home after a single night to spending months away from his family for thin pay.

The fisherman summed up the effect on his household:

It is harder now to make a living and feed my family.

A Greenpeace campaigner in the Philippines warned in 2018 that local fleets and industrial vessels were catching too many juvenile tuna, threatening the stock's future:

They are taking out a generation of tuna.

Catching young fish removes animals before they can contribute fully to the next generation. The European Union previously placed the Philippines on a warning list over fisheries governance, prompting a stricter law. Juvenile fish nevertheless continue to appear on port conveyors, alongside concerns about unregulated activity offshore.

Local regulators and traders identify harvest limits, better monitoring aboard vessels and traceability throughout the supply chain as priorities. Traceability means keeping records that connect a fish sold at market to the vessel and place where it was caught. Labor protections would also allow crews to seek help without fear.

Indonesia's tuna squeeze reaches factory workers

Indonesia, the second largest seafood producer after China, faces pressure from overfishing and a changing climate. In Bitung, a major port city, declining catches have reduced factory output and jobs. Fishers describe longer journeys and weather patterns that make familiar seasons harder to read, cutting earnings and pushing crews into debt.

Ahmad Solihin, a former tuna cannery worker in Bitung, left factory work to drive a cab. Falling landings reduced the plant's profitability and his opportunities for overtime. His earnings could no longer cover rent and basic needs. He explained his decision:

As the fish catch declined, my employer could not gain profits and eventually I could not get an additional income. So I decided to leave.

Warjono, a fisherman from Pekalongan in Central Java, described catches that once reached a ton per trip falling by more than half in familiar waters. Unpredictable weather now affects both his income and his safety.

Warjono explained how changing conditions undermine knowledge passed between generations:

If you cannot predict the weather and wind direction, just like our grandfathers did in the past, it means you cannot predict the catch.

The Indonesian Longline Tuna Association says the number of tuna vessels in Benoa Bay fell from around 1,000 in 2009 to fewer than 300 as costs rose and fish became scarce. That represents a decline of more than 70 percent using those figures. Captains describe monthly hauls falling by half. These pressures on workers and fleets are detailed in an Indonesian tuna sector account.

Jakarta has begun a Measured Fishing policy intended to cap permitted catch across six zones and regulate seasons so fish populations can recover. The policy also aims to stabilize revenue and employment. The account gives no timetable for full implementation.

Thailand's seafood industry depends on strained seas

Thailand remains a regional seafood hub, yet many consumers eat fish imported frozen because local stocks have declined. In Samut Sakhon, Burmese workers unload stingrays and other species for cold storage. Labor advocates have long warned that weak oversight can conceal trafficking, wage theft and dangerous working conditions.

Several cases connect IUU fishing with forced labor. Falling catches place pressure on a supply chain that stretches from boats to processors and consumers, while import dependence grows in places once supplied by nearby waters.

In Chumphon, fishmeal factories grind small wild fish and bycatch into feed for aquaculture and livestock. These small forage fish are food for larger fish, seabirds and marine mammals. Removing them in large volumes takes food from other animals as well as fish from the sea.

Discarded fishing gear adds another source of injury. A hawksbill turtle recovered by Thai researchers in Rayong lost both foreflippers after becoming entangled in abandoned nets. Such gear, often called ghost nets, can continue trapping marine animals after fishers stop using it.

Shark markets expose a wider threat

Tanjung Luar in East Lombok is one of Indonesia's largest shark markets. Fins are sent to Hong Kong and mainland China, while meat, skin and cartilage enter local supply chains and cosmetics. Some of the species landed there are classified as endangered or vulnerable.

Fishers and traders say shark fishing supports livelihoods where other work is scarce. Conservation scientists warn that current fishing levels push species toward collapse and disrupt marine food webs, the connections between animals and what they eat.

A global reassessment found that more than one third of shark and ray species face a high risk of extinction, with overfishing the universal driver of threat. Its authors call for catch limits based on science, effective marine protected areas and trade controls that reduce deaths among the most threatened species. The shark and ray reassessment places the market scenes within a much broader conservation problem.

When fewer fish threaten a family craft

Vietnam's fish sauce producers face difficulty finding the anchovies that give their product its distinctive character. Warming seas and falling oxygen levels can push schools farther offshore or reduce their size, while heavy fishing adds pressure. Producers in heritage towns struggle to obtain the right fish at the right time.

Bui Van Phu, who helps run a family business and teaches information technology, wants to pass the craft to his son. He described what is at stake:

Fish sauce is not just a condiment but a craft, culture, and tradition that must be preserved.

The pressures on anchovy supplies and family production are described in an account of fish sauce. For these producers, an unreliable catch threatens the continuity of a skill as well as a source of income.

Malaysia's Bajau Laut, a seaborne indigenous group, face a related loss as declining catches and unpredictable weather draw them toward work on land. In southern Thailand, the Urak Lawoi and other communities are shifting from fishing to tourism. These changes affect ties to place, practical knowledge and beliefs that shape daily life.

How illegal catches and abuse stay hidden

Strong demand for seafood meets weak rules and a low chance of being caught in many fishing grounds. Transshipment, the transfer of catch from a fishing boat to a refrigerated carrier at sea, can obscure where fish originated and which crew caught them.

Flags of convenience allow owners to register vessels in distant countries with limited oversight. Crew lists change at sea, and shipping documents can obscure the origin of the catch. By the time fish arrive at port, tracing their journey can be difficult. Coastal governments lose license fees and taxes, while lawful operators compete against vessels that avoid those costs.

Investigations have documented forced labor, debt bondage and violent abuse aboard fishing vessels. Some workers remain trapped for months or years without proper pay or documents. Filipino fishers around General Santos describe being ordered across borders, detained abroad and left struggling to return home without help.

Protecting crews and checking catches are connected tasks. Workers need union access and channels for reporting abuse, while inspectors need reliable vessel, catch and employment records. Weak regulation allows both labor exploitation and illegal fishing to flourish.

China's policy changes meet regional tensions

China has the world's largest distant water fishing fleet and frequently stands at the center of regional friction. Its policy has also begun to change, with plans to cap domestic marine catches, reduce fuel subsidies and test total allowable catch systems and allocations for individual vessels.

A total allowable catch sets a ceiling on how much fish may be taken. Allocations divide that permitted amount among vessels or other participants. China has stated that it wants to shrink its offshore fleet and stabilize distant water production, as described in an assessment of fishery reforms.

Local protectionism and rising demand remain obstacles. Consistent enforcement will determine whether the changes reduce illegal activity. A move from fuel subsidies toward stewardship incentives would change what public support rewards, from helping boats operate to encouraging care for fish stocks.

Indonesia has previously experimented with tough enforcement and is now designing fishing zones that cap permitted activity and catch. The Philippines strengthened its legal framework after the European warning. Across these countries, satellite monitoring, port inspections and court penalties are needed to close loopholes that keep rule breaking profitable.

The dated developments show how long the pressure has been building:

• 2009: Benoa Bay had around 1,000 tuna vessels, according to the Indonesian Longline Tuna Association.
• 2018: A Greenpeace campaigner in the Philippines warned that fleets were removing a generation of tuna.
• September 7, 2025: Indonesia's Measured Fishing policy forms part of the response to falling catches, with permitted catch to be capped across six zones.

Catch limits, shared rules and support for crews

Fish populations can recover when governments set sustainable catch limits, stop destructive fishing, protect nursery habitats and enforce rules fairly. Aquaculture already supplies more than half of the world's seafood. Responsible feed and clean farming practices can help it reduce pressure on wild populations.

Data on global fish production show wild catch leveling off while aquaculture expands. Fish supply can therefore grow without continually increasing the catch taken from the ocean, provided farming and fisheries are managed responsibly. Reducing aquaculture's demand for wild forage fish is part of that task.

One proposal is an ASEAN led system of individual transferable quotas within national exclusive economic zones, the waters where countries control access to marine resources. Governments would set annual limits by species, allocate shares to fishers and allow those shares to be traded.

A quota would become an asset whose future value depends on a healthy fish population. Supporters argue that this encourages fishers to protect stocks and allows fishing to shift toward those able to operate efficiently. Evidence from other regions suggests that collapses are less likely where such systems align private incentives with public conservation goals. A regional quota system remains a proposal rather than an agreed ASEAN program.

Other practical measures address what happens aboard vessels, at ports and along the route to market:

• Set annual catch limits and harvest strategies using the best available science.
• Use vessel monitoring that resists tampering and electronic observers on ships at higher risk of violations.
• Require authorization, monitoring and full documentation for transshipment, or move transfers into port.
• Join and enforce the Port State Measures Agreement to keep illegally caught fish out of markets.
• Maintain catch documentation and traceability from the net to the consumer.
• Ban blast and poison fishing and phase out the most damaging trawls in sensitive areas.
• Develop alternative aquaculture feeds to reduce demand for wild forage fish.
• Protect coral reefs, seagrass and mangroves that shelter young fish.
• Support crew rights, union access and effective channels for complaints.
• Provide safety equipment, credit and insurance so small boat fishers can follow rules and survive lean seasons.

Major seafood buyers also influence which practices pay. Brands can demand traceable supplies, reject transshipment without oversight and favor gear and fisheries certified for lower bycatch and habitat damage. Coastal families need both healthier fish stocks and enough support to weather restrictions during recovery.

What to Know

• Asian fisheries and aquaculture provide more than half of global production, while 64 percent of Asian fisheries face medium to high risk.
• IUU fishing accounts for roughly one in five fish caught in the wild globally and generates up to US$36.4 billion annually in illicit profits.
• Filipino crews report confrontations near Palawan, while a reef assessment identified at least 160 square kilometers of damage in disputed waters.
• Juvenile tuna catches threaten future stocks around General Santos. Indonesia's declining catches are costing factory jobs and fishing vessels.
• Thailand faces depleted local stocks, labor abuses, demand for fishmeal and injuries caused by discarded nets.
• More than one third of shark and ray species face a high risk of extinction, driven by overfishing.
• Scarcer fish threaten Vietnam's fish sauce craft and the traditions of indigenous coastal communities.
• Catch limits, habitat protection, port controls, traceability and worker protections are central to rebuilding fisheries.