Ecuadorian Human Rights Activist Shot

Ecuadorian activist María Chóez, a vocal advocate for the families of missing tuna fishers, has been murdered.

According to witnesses cited by NGO Human Rights at Sea, the 48-year-old was shot in the head by occupants of a vehicle on September 25 in Manta, Ecuador.

She was reported as being a family member of one of the 21 fishermen from the Patricia Lynn tuna vessel that went missing on December 22, 2024. She had been a vocal advocate about the case.

María's assassination underscores the increasing impunity faced by those people who legitimately challenge abuses, including in the maritime environment, says Human Rights at Sea.

According to Global Witness, at least 146 land and environmental defenders were murdered or disappeared in 2024.

Human Rights at Sea cites maritime-related abuses including:

DFW Indonesia and the National Fishers Center have documented hundreds of cases of forced labor, trafficking, and abuse aboard fishing vessels. One case involved a crew member found decapitated after attempting to escape exploitative conditions in the Aru Sea.

Environmental Justice Foundation investigations into distant-water fishing fleets have revealed slavery, debt bondage, and murder. A Chinese fleet in the Southwest Indian Ocean included North Korean crew that were trapped at sea for years.

“These cases are not isolated. They reflect a wider crisis of impunity in the maritime sector, where jurisdictional ambiguity, weak enforcement, and corporate secrecy allow abuses to flourish unchecked,” says Human Rights at Sea.

Human Rights at Sea has long argued that human rights apply at sea, as they do on land. The Geneva Declaration on Human Rights at Sea, and a decade of reports highlight the urgent need for legal reform, transparency, and protection for those working in fisheries, shipping, as well as maritime advocacy.

Human Rights at Sea, Environmental Justice Foundation, DFW Indonesia, and many other responsible organisations are calling for:

• Legal recognition and protection of human rights' defenders at sea.

• Mandatory safety protocols for fisheries observers and fishing crew.

• Transparent investigations into deaths and disappearances.

• Accountability for flag states and corporate entities involved in abuses at sea.