By Frederick Christopher – Development Advisor, Ocean Integrity

In a small coastal village in Indonesia, a fisherman lives with his wife, two young boys, and a daughter. Their home is a simple wooden shack built over the water. It is fragile, but it is theirs.

Each night, as the sun sets, the fisherman prepares his small kayak-style boat. The vessel is no more than two feet wide and twelve feet long, with stabilizing beams on each side. His wife watches him as he gathers his hooks, lines, rice, and a bottle of water to last through the night. With worry in her eyes, she whispers the same words every evening: “Please be safe, come home.”

Out on the water, he fishes for long hours, sometimes as many as twelve, hoping for a catch good enough to sell at the market. When dawn comes, his wife stands at the edge of their shack, her heart filled with relief as she sees him paddling back. One morning, he tells her, “I had a good catch.” He takes the fish to the market and returns with the equivalent of eight dollars. It is not much, but it is enough for rice, water, a few vegetables, and to keep some fish for their own meal. That night, the family sits together on the floor to share food, and though tired, the fisherman feels proud to feed his children. He longs for them to one day live a better life.

But there are many nights when the ocean gives nothing. He returns empty handed, his wife’s eyes heavy with worry. Friends in the village tell him about Ocean Integrity, and how they are paying fishermen to collect plastic from the ocean. Curious, he decides to try.

The next morning, instead of fish, his boat is filled with bottles, bags, straws, and broken plastic cups. He stacks the waste by his home until the Ocean Integrity truck arrives at the end of the week. The plastic is weighed, and he is paid on the spot. For the first time, he walks into his home smiling. “I made more this week collecting plastic than I ever did fishing,” he tells his wife. “It’s twice as much.”

It is still small money, but for this family, it is life-changing. Now they can buy new clothes for the children, medicine when they are sick, and enough food to eat better than before. The fisherman begins to dream not only of feeding his family, but of repairing his home, and of giving his children the chance to go to school and live without the same struggles.

This is the power of Ocean Integrity’s mission. By joining the movement, Clean the Ocean With Every Transaction, we are not only removing plastic from the sea, we are lifting families out of poverty, empowering fishermen with new income, and giving children hope for a better life.

Every time someone buys a coffee, attends a football match, or purchases a ticket through a business that has joined our movement, they are part of this story. They may not see it, but their small action is helping a fisherman in Indonesia put food on the table, repair his home, and keep his family safe.

At Ocean Integrity, we believe change starts with simple actions. Together, we can clean our oceans, restore marine life, and change lives—one fisherman, one family, one community at a time.