Table of Contents

List of Figures, Tables and Plates
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
Acknowledgements
Foreword by Deirdre Fitzpatrick
1. Introduction
Part I: The Fishing Industry and the Race to Fish
2. Fish, Gear and Boats
3. The Risks of Working at Sea
4. Nation States’ Rights to Fish
5. Employment and Poverty in Fishing Communities
6. Destruction and Theft of Fish Stocks
7. Laundering and Marketing Stolen Fish
Part II: The Plight of the Fishers
8. Arrests of Fishers
9. Getting a Crew by Dubious Contracting and Slave Trafficking
10. Abuses and Slavery at Sea
11. Escape from Hell
12. Fishing Vessels and the Drugs Trade
13. Piracy and Armed Robbery
14. Conclusion: Problems and Prospects
Notes
Index

About the Author

Professor Alastair Couper is former Head of the Department of Maritime Studies and International Transport at the University of Cardiff, Wales, UK, and former Director of the Seafarers International Research Centre in that Department, a world-leading maritime studies centre. His books include Voyages of Abuse (Pluto, 1999) and Fishers and Plunderers (Pluto, 2015). He is on the Board of Seafarers' Rights International.

Hance D. Smith specialises in Marine Geography and Marine Policy including the development and management of marine fisheries. He is the co-author of Fishers and Plunderers (Pluto, 2015).



Father Bruno Ciceri is representative of the Apostleship of the Sea International (Vatican City), Chairman of the International Christian Maritime Association, and is a member of the Board of Seafarers' Rights International. He has worked for many years caring for seafarers and fishers in several countries of Asia. He has published on sea fishers' conditions and human rights. He is the co-author of Fishers and Plunderers (Pluto, 2015).

Reviews

'Within it are riches and horror'
*Rose George, New Statesman*

'Alastair has exposed the dirty secret of human rights abuse that borders on genocide of innocent young fishers in an industry infested with criminality where the flag state is absent or where it is victim and culprit at the same time. This book is a challenge to our humanity, a call for action to reverse this onslaught on our blue planet, and for policies of reason to replace the state of denial that is currently the nature of this troubled industry'
*Dr Awni Behnam, Honorary President, International Ocean Institute, Former United Nations Assistant Secretary General*

'Fishers and Plunderers is a must read for policy makers, scholars, activists and students concerned with universal human rights at sea and the moral imperative to protect vulnerable people'
*Aldo Chircop*

'This is yet another brilliant work not to be missed from Professor Couper. It is a compelling work on fishers brilliantly written for a wide audience - from policy makers, universities, training institutions, human rights groups to the consumers of fish'
*Dr. Sabirin Ja’afar, Judicial Commisioner, High Court, Malaysia.*

'A passionate and devastating critique that deserves a wide readership'
*Nautilus International Telegraph*

'Excellent'
*Counterpunch*

'The authors manage to convey a righteous anger that is all the more powerful for being restrained, analytical and supported by both data and personal testimony. This is a necessary book for all who care about the sea and the lives of those who work on it'
*International Journal of Maritime History*