Regional reporting on illegal fishing wins 2 SOPA awards

MANILA, Philippines – Oceans Inc., a cross-border investigation by the Environmental Reporting Collective (ERC) into crimes in the global fishing industry, won in two regional categories of the Society of Publishers in Asia’s (SOPA) 2022 Awards for Editorial Excellence.

Rappler is among a dozen of newsrooms that contributed to the almost yearlong investigation into illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the region.

SOPA announced the winners on Thursday, June 16. Oceans Inc. won the Award for Excellence in the Excellence in Reporting on the Environment and Carlos Tejada Award for Excellence in Investigative Reporting categories.

🏆 The Award for Excellence in Regional Reporting on the Environment goes to @erc_earth for a tour de force in “Oceans Inc”. A richly-layered package that builds to a model of enterprise reporting. #SOPAwards2022

📰 https://t.co/MLRfV54O9d pic.twitter.com/LpbsSbvN4t

— The Society of Publishers in Asia (@sopasia) June 16, 2022

🏆 Congratulations to @erc_earth for winning the Carlos Tejada Award for Excellence in Regional Investigative Reporting. “Ocean Inc” takes the story of the deaths of Indonesian fishers on Chinese fishing boats a step further. #SOPAwards2022

📰 https://t.co/MLRfV54O9d pic.twitter.com/hGp97Lz4ch

— The Society of Publishers in Asia (@sopasia) June 16, 2022

Rappler’s Keith Anthony Fabro contributed to “Fishers on the Frontlines,” the first piece in the series that looked into communities in China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia that have been impacted by IUU fishing and the ongoing maritime territorial disputes. His story looked into the harassment of fisherfolk from Pag-asa, Palawan, by Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea.

The cross-border collaborative investigation is also nominated for the One World Media Awards 2022.

In announcing the winners, the SOPA said judges called the project “a tour de force. A richly-layered package that builds to a model of enterprise reporting. Hard to know where to start with the success of this project, which is beautifully presented.”

In 2020, ERC’s regional reporting on the illegal pangolin trade also won two SOPA awards in the Excellence in Journalistic Innovation Award and Excellence in Reporting on the Environment Award categories. – Rappler.com