Southeast Asia’s fishermen are being pushed to the brink by fuel costs

ASIA PACIFIC / Society

Southeast Asia’s fishermen are being pushed to the brink by fuel costs

"I’ve been doing this for 40 years and it just keeps getting worse,” Bunyut Chaosamut said. "We are sea people; we can’t just quit and start growing rice or planting rubber trees.” | BLOOMBERG

By Rosalind Mathieson, Randy Thanthong-Knight and Manolo Serapio Jr.
BLOOMBERG

May 22, 2026

For two months, Thai fisherman Bunyut Chaosamut kept his boat at anchor at a port an hour’s drive south of Bangkok. The war in the Middle East had driven up fuel costs, making it too expensive to go out. Now, it’s become too expensive not to.

With a crew of 10 —?six from Myanmar and four Thais — to feed, house and pay, plus maintenance and utility fees to dock at a commercial jetty, Bunyut is headed back to sea. His boat leaves just as the sun is setting and returns at dawn laden with herring, sardines and mackerel from the Gulf of Thailand. His fuel bill is well over half the cost of each trip, yet Bunyut says he’s unable to raise the price of his catch.

“I couldn’t keep my boat docked any longer, my hands are tied,” Bunyut said. He stands on the pier in Samut Sakhon in the late morning sun, watching as his crew untangle and stow nets. “I’ve been doing this for 40 years and it just keeps getting worse,” he said. “We are sea people; we can’t just quit and start growing rice or planting rubber trees.”