III. Offshore Fisheries and Maritime Labor Approximately 30% of foreign fishers working on distant water fishing vessels have the chance to access Taiwanese ports. The Fisheries Agency indicates that this group primarily consists of those engaged in squid and saury fishing, certain vessels operating from the Yanpu Fishing Port in Donggang, and distant water fishing vessels active in the waters near the Nanfang’ao Fishing Port in Su’ao. The remaining 70% of distant water fishers do not enter Taiwan. This latter group mainly includes crews from tuna longline and purse seine vessels, which usually employ local workers from abroad, operate in international waters, and dock at foreign ports. These fishers are returned to their countries of origin upon completing their contracts. How do foreign fishers board Taiwan’s distant water fishing vessels and begin their maritime journeys? This section will explore the trajectory of marine labor within distant water fisheries—starting with foreign recruitment agencies. It will address recruitment and onboarding procedures, pre-employment training, living conditions, labor arrangements, remuneration and benefits, social security provisions, and mechanisms for lodging complaints. Additionally, the chapter will analyze the viewpoints of different stakeholders within the distant water fisheries concerning these matters. i. Recruitment Ms. Li, who initially worked in customs declaration for fishing vessels, later established her recruitment agency due to her contacts with captains and crew. In an interview, she explained that her company initially recruited fishermen through connections with fishing crew members, contacting the recruitment agencies they were familiar with in Indonesia. Over time, some of the recruitment was handled directly by her company, which worked with local recruitment agencies in the fishermen’s home countries. The foreign recruitment agencies her company partnered with 29