Ending IUU fishing, forced labour

He promised me a high salary and a bonus from the captain every time the ship docks!'

- FILDZA NABILA AVIANTI

In 2013, Rizky Oktaviana was recruited to work on a Taiwanese fishing vessel in Cape Town with promises of high pay that would improve his quality of life. Instead, he endured 22-hour working shifts, verbal abuse, and unsafe conditions. He and his crewmates were forced to work, even if they were ill, or the weather was dangerous. When the ship was detained for suspected illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, Rizky and 73 other Indonesians were abandoned in Cape Town, detained without any legal representation, and left uncompensated after repatriation.

With the support from the Union of Indonesian Migrant Workers (SBMI), IOM, and International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) Cape Town, Rizky was released and later joined SBMI as a paralegal, eventually becoming the Coordinator of the Maritime Department. His journey embodies the resilience of fisher-led advocacy: despite systemic exploitation, fishers like Rizky have transformed personal hardship into collective leadership. In 2017, Rizky succeeded in advocating the inclusion of migrant fishers as migrant workers in Indonesian law.