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Overfishing in Southeast Asia - An Ecological and Human Drama
Overfishing in Southeast Asia - An Ecological and Human Drama
Nicole Tung
September 9, 2025
A Burmese dock worker sortes different fish species after a catch from a Thai vessel was unloaded at a landing site in Ranong, Thailand, on Thursday, January 23, 2025
Southeast Asia, which is home to one of the most diverse marine ecosystems in the world, is at the centre of global fishing. It is also one of the regions most threatened by illegal fishing practices and human rights violations. In order to meet the rising demands, industry players are resorting to overfishing. Nicole Tung, winner of this year’s Carmignac Photojournalism Award, aims to use her photographic series to raise awareness of these issues.
LFI: The problems facing marine ecosystems are well known, but very opaque. How did you manage to see behind the façade?
Nicole Tung: I feel like I only scratched the surface of overfishing in SE Asia. Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing is a worldwide problem, and advocacy groups have done their fair share in trying to get the various parties to agree to better regulations; but enforcement is the problem. All of the worst abuses – of the environment, and of the people working aboard fishing vessels – happen out at sea, and I caught only a glimpse of this by speaking to many people on land to understand their experiences. Access at sea was particularly difficult and very time consuming. You often run into barriers because there is illicit activity that captains and boat owners do not want to show.
On the one hand, there is the problem of overfishing, and on the other, the fishermen themselves live on the breadline. What did you want to tell with your pictures?
With the images, I wanted to show that it isn’t the fishermen, especially those on commercial fishing vessels, who should be blamed. It’s us: for being too blasé about where our seafood comes from, how it is caught, the knock-on consequences of continuing to consume this way. It is true that much of our fish now comes from farms – though these farms also present grave issues –, but the fishing done out at sea has a very real cost. Up to 40% of the total catch globally is considered by-catch [ed. unwanted fish or marine creatures trapped in nets while fishing for other species], and too many commercial fishing ships continue to use incredibly damaging ways to keep up with demand by using industrial fishing methods like bottom trawling. Supporting local and artisanal fisherfolk and being more conscious is what I hope the images can point to.
What does the Carmignac Photojournalism Award mean to you?
Receiving the Carmignac Photojournalism Award is an honour, as I’m following in the footsteps of many talented photographers before me. I became interested in this subject about overfishing after reading Ian Urbina’s “Outlaw Ocean” several years ago, and when the Carmignac Foundation called for proposals on this topic – which is very different to what I normally cover – I wanted to explore the complexities of this very opaque industry, and how the invisible aspects of it are being driven by continued consumer demand.
To what extent do you think the award will draw more attention to the problem and, above all, contribute to its solution?
I hope that people who view the images can understand the breadth of the issue: it isn’t simply about eating less seafood but choosing more consciously. As for solutions, they often take a very long time because each country has different laws on overfishing. For example, Thailand did clean up the sea slavery aspect to an extent after multiple reports in 2014 shone a light on the abuses happening on board and in the sea. However, the Thai government is now considering rolling back some of these regulations under pressure from the corporations with high stakes in the fishing industry. I hope the images just bring awareness to people to consider that we don’t always know, or can see, the path which food follows before ending up on our plates.
LFI: The problems facing marine ecosystems are well known, but very opaque. How did you manage to see behind the façade?
Nicole Tung: I feel like I only scratched the surface of overfishing in SE Asia. Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing is a worldwide problem, and advocacy groups have done their fair share in trying to get the various parties to agree to better regulations; but enforcement is the problem. All of the worst abuses – of the environment, and of the people working aboard fishing vessels – happen out at sea, and I caught only a glimpse of this by speaking to many people on land to understand their experiences. Access at sea was particularly difficult and very time consuming. You often run into barriers because there is illicit activity that captains and boat owners do not want to show.
On the one hand, there is the problem of overfishing, and on the other, the fishermen themselves live on the breadline. What did you want to tell with your pictures?
With the images, I wanted to show that it isn’t the fishermen, especially those on commercial fishing vessels, who should be blamed. It’s us: for being too blasé about where our seafood comes from, how it is caught, the knock-on consequences of continuing to consume this way. It is true that much of our fish now comes from farms – though these farms also present grave issues –, but the fishing done out at sea has a very real cost. Up to 40% of the total catch globally is considered by-catch [ed. unwanted fish or marine creatures trapped in nets while fishing for other species], and too many commercial fishing ships continue to use incredibly damaging ways to keep up with demand by using industrial fishing methods like bottom trawling. Supporting local and artisanal fisherfolk and being more conscious is what I hope the images can point to.
What does the Carmignac Photojournalism Award mean to you?
Receiving the Carmignac Photojournalism Award is an honour, as I’m following in the footsteps of many talented photographers before me. I became interested in this subject about overfishing after reading Ian Urbina’s “Outlaw Ocean” several years ago, and when the Carmignac Foundation called for proposals on this topic – which is very different to what I normally cover – I wanted to explore the complexities of this very opaque industry, and how the invisible aspects of it are being driven by continued consumer demand.
To what extent do you think the award will draw more attention to the problem and, above all, contribute to its solution?
I hope that people who view the images can understand the breadth of the issue: it isn’t simply about eating less seafood but choosing more consciously. As for solutions, they often take a very long time because each country has different laws on overfishing. For example, Thailand did clean up the sea slavery aspect to an extent after multiple reports in 2014 shone a light on the abuses happening on board and in the sea. However, the Thai government is now considering rolling back some of these regulations under pressure from the corporations with high stakes in the fishing industry. I hope the images just bring awareness to people to consider that we don’t always know, or can see, the path which food follows before ending up on our plates.
All images on this page: © Nicole Tung for Fondation Carmignac
EQUIPMENT: Leica SL2, Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-70 f/2.8 Asph
Nicole Tung+-
The freelance photographer works for international publications and NGOs, primarily in the Middle East and Asia. She has reported on conflicts such as those in Libya and Syria, on former child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and on the refugee crisis in Europe. She has received wide recognition for her work, including the International Photo Award, the Society of Professional Journalists Award and the James Foley Award for Conflict Reporting of the Online News Association. Her work has been exhibited at the Annenberg Space for Photography, at Visa Pour l'Image and at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Hong Kong. More
A Burmese dock worker sortes different fish species after a catch from a Thai vessel was unloaded at a landing site in Ranong, Thailand, on Thursday, January 23, 2025
Filipino fishermen unload catches of Yellowfin tuna, Bigeye tuna, and Blue Marlin, after being at sea for approximately one month, at General Santos fish port, the Philippines, on Wednesday, May 21, 2025. General Santos is known as the Philippines’ tuna capital and hub for tuna fishing and exports of the products. The city hosts numerous processing facilities where the fish, primarily tuna, is packaged or canned for sale to the Filipino market and for export worldwide
Burmese migrant workers prepare to unload hundreds of stingrays to move them into cold storage, at a facility owned by a family of commercial fishers, in Samut Sakhon, Thailand, on Wednesday, January 15, 2025. According to one of the owners, the imported frozen fish and rays, seen here, are brought in from Indonesia and sold mainly for domestic consumption in Thailand. Much of the seafood Thailand now consumes is being imported due to Thai waters being overfished the decline of fish stocks over the last several decades
Oranee Jongkolpath, 30, a veterinarian at Thailand's Marine and Coastal Resources Research and Development Center in Rayong province, prepares to clean a hawksbill turtle with a double amputation in Prasae, Thailand, on Saturday, January 18, 2025. The injured turtle was found by fishermen in a garbage patch, and was likely entangled in ghost nets - fishing nets lost or discarded by fishermen - causing severe damage to its two front flippers
Family members of Filipino fishermen place bait on fishing lines ready to be used, in Quezon, Palawan, the Philippines, on Saturday, May 24, 2025
Various species of sharks, some of which are endangered, while others are listed as vulnerable, hauled on shore at dawn by commercial fishermen at the Tanjung Luar port on Monday, June 9, 2025, in East Lombok, Indonesia. Tanjung Luar is one of the largest shark markets in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, from where shark fins are exported to other Asian markets, primarily Hong Kong and China, was bones are used in cosmetic products also sold to China. Shark meat and skins are consumed locally as an important source of protein. In recent years, facing heavy criticism because of the unregulated shark fishing industry, the Indonesian government has sought to bring in stricter controls over commercial hunting of sharks in an attempt to balance the needs of fishermen as well as the need to protect dwindling shark populations
A drone image showing the largest commercial fish port in Indonesia, Muara Angke, where hundreds of commercial fishing vessels are docked, in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Sunday, June 15, 2025