Death at sea

Death at Sea chronicles the life of Eritara Aati Kaierua, who died while working onboard a commercial fishing vessel. Five years on, his family are still searching for answers to his unexplained death at sea. The subsequent Death at Sea Justice Campaign successfully contributed toward global protections for fishers.

 

The film won a national student Royal Television Society Award and was nominated at the Jackson Wild Media Awards. It was sponsored by Human Rights at Sea International, Blue Marine Foundation, Sustainable Fisheries and Communities Trust, The Seafarer’s Charity, The Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Fishmongers Company. 

 

The Death at Sea Justice Campaign (deathatseafilm.com), which advocates for compensation for the family, a renewed investigation into Eritara’s death, and the development of rigorous international policies that serve to protect observers, was launched in 2023. In the last two years, the film has been screened across the globe, at closed-door government meetings in Bangkok, in front of British seafood and grocery retailers, and even at a late-night club in New York City. The campaign has been featured in ABC’s Pacific Beat podcast, the Manila Times, Seafood Source, and even a book, The Last Fish by Rose George. The campaign is still ongoing, with current efforts including collaboration with French NGO, Bloom.

 

In 2024, the Western and Central Pacific Commission adopted a new resolution to protect fishers and observers, and in 2025, the Justice Campaign was recognised with a Maritime Media Award for its contributions to fisheries and human rights policy reform.

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Read more about our process of making the film here.