When SBS News reporter Jennifer Scherer approached fisheries observers to speak about their experiences on commercial fishing vessels, many were afraid to speak publicly due to fear of retribution.

According to the Association for Professional Observers, at least 14 observers have gone missing or died at sea since 2015.

The Pacific tuna fishery is a US$1.5 billion industry where approximately US$300 million disappears due to illegal activity.

The observers’ role in relaying tuna catch information back to the Pacific Island nations that employ them can put them at odds with the financial interests of the crew. 

Scherer interviewed David Hammond, founder of Human Rights at Sea, about a case the NGO has been investigating since 2021 – a case where many questions remain unanswered.

Kiribati observer, Eritara Aati Kaierua, died on board a Taiwanese-flagged vessel, the Win Far 636, in 2020. "The first coroner who actually saw the body had highlighted in the official and publicly available reports that Eritara died from a blunt force trauma to the head," Hammond told SBS News. 

The cause of death was later changed to hypertension, and Human Rights at Sea concluded from its own investigation that the official investigations were flawed with, for example, the vessel being released from detention when it still constituted a crime scene.

SBS News contacted Kiribati authorities for comment, including the Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources, the police, the attorney-general's office and the office of the president, but did not receive a response. SBS News was also unable to contact the owner of the vessel, Kuo Hsiung Fishery Co. Ltd.

Since the death of Kaierua, the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency has established a compensation scheme to cover any insurance shortfalls for the death or injury of observers.

Scherer, along with Ronald Toito'ona, explore the other protections and compliance actions being taken to protect observers and ensure the sustainability of the region’s tuna fisheries in a feature article and associated podcasts: 

 
Death at Sea Film and Justice Campaign

Website: www.deathatseafilm.com 

ENDS.

Source: Human Rights at Sea 2026. Wendy Laursen.

Photo credit: Death at Sea Film / Sara Pipernos.

Contact: If you have any questions, please write to us at enquiries@hrasi.org.

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