shifts, with each fisher working at three-hour intervals. After the line is set, they rest for six hours before engaging in another 10 hours of retrieving the catch. “When I was on the Chinese vessel, we rarely had time off because the catch was so plentiful—sometimes, we wouldn’t get a break for a whole month. Now we’re guaranteed two rest days each month.” Reyne recalls his experience aboard the Chinese and Taiwanese vessels, noting the contrasting living conditions. The Chinese CT7 vessel provided more spacious accommodations; four individuals shared each cabin, and the ship featured a dining area and a bathroom with showers. Reyne’s initial salary on the Chinese vessel was US$300 per month. Although he earns a higher wage on the Taiwanese vessel, it is a CT4 model with significantly more cramped living conditions. All fishers are housed in a single cabin, sleeping on beds barely 200 cm long. Reyne further describes the differences between the Taiwanese vessel, which only has a toilet and no shower: “We mostly wash with seawater and without fresh water to rinse off so our skin gets drier and drier. Shampoo and soap don’t lather in seawater, and washing clothes in that water makes them harder to dry. Wearing them after washing also leaves a salty residue on our skin that makes us itch and covers us in rashes.” He emphasizes that fishing is extremely hard work. He recommends that the ship company improve onboard facilities and raise wages, arguing that the crew can only get adequate rest if they improve living conditions. Muhamad: We can’t be late, but our pay can Indonesian fisher Muhamad Kafandi participated in a video interview with the NHRC against a sunny beach backdrop with a clear blue ocean. However, his harrowing story reveals the severe conditions he experienced aboard Taiwanese fishing vessels. Muhamad had a brief tenure as a locally hired fisher, departing from Nanfang’ao in Yilan on a small trawler that returned after approximately ten days. The vessel's owner had made 2