Lifestyle
Turf is out. Native grasses are in. Here are 4 lush low-water options
Tearing out your lawn can be a tough decision, especially if you have children or dogs who love to roll and play.
Or — no judgment here — maybe you just enjoy the visual serenity of a swath of green in a region where the hills go brown in the summer.
The good news is there are low-water, lushly green native lawn alternatives to tall fescue, the most popular water-guzzling king of turf grasses. But here’s the truth about these other options:
“There isn’t anything out there, native or exotic, that is going to stay green all year round in Southern California without some water,” said horticulturist Carol Bornstein, native plant guru and author of two definitive books about California landscaping, including “Reimagining the California Lawn.”
Christie Mahr casts a shadow across a patch of Kurapia groundcover in the backyard of her Ventura home.
(Michael Owen Baker / For The Times)
The trick is understanding that less is more when it comes to watering any lawn, native grasses or no, she said.
“There is no lawn in Southern California that needs water every day, even in a super hot, dry microclimate,” she said, “You want to wean your lawn off that kind of life support by watering less often and more deeply — basically water when it needs it.”
Unfortunately many lawn owners haven’t gotten this message, said Jim Blair, a turfgrass specialist who oversees UC Riverside’s Turfgrass Research program. Most people are still overwatering their traditional turf lawns with frequent short sessions that encourage shallow, easily dried-out roots. And when they change over to native grass lawns, they don’t change their watering patterns, Blair said, ending up with diseased or dead native lawns due to overwatering.
Native grasses usually require less water than traditional turf lawns because their roots grow much deeper — up to 10 feet deep in some cases — allowing them to find water stored in the ground and weather longer periods of drought.
They’ve also adapted by going dormant during certain parts of the year, like Bermuda, a warm-season grass, which does fine in hot summer months but turns brown during the winter.
For instance Blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis) is one of the native grasses Bornstein favors for lawns. It does go dormant in the winter, she said, “with a blond coloration which I think is quite beautiful. But trying to keep it green all year is challenging because too much water will kill them” by rotting the roots.
So that’s another lesson about native grasses — your expectations will have to change along with your irrigation techniques, because turf lawns and native grass lawns aren’t interchangeable, said Baird.
John Ellis’ yard features his lawn of native fescue grasses, and an agave ‘blue glow’ plant.
(Michael Owen Baker / For The Times)
John Ellis lays in his lawn, surrounded by three kinds of native fescue grasses.
(Michael Owen Baker / For The Times)
Traditional turf grasses like tall fescue and Bermuda were developed for two purposes — “to withstand persistent low mowing and regular traffic,” Baird said. If that’s what you want, Baird said there is a Bermuda hybrid on the market, developed in Georgia called TifTuf that has the same low-water needs as native grasses.
But if you’re sick of mowing (or paying someone else to do it), or you just want to reduce water use while creating habitat for local pollinators, birds and other creatures, then native grasses can give you the (mostly) green you crave with a lot less effort and expenses.
These will not be the flat carpet lawns of yore — although Kurapia lawns come close, at least from a distance. Native bent grass (Agrostis pallens) or native fescues like Festuca rubra grow in graceful mounding swirls and tufts that catch the light like glistening swells on a lake. They are beautiful to behold but not so easy to run through.
And unless you plant sod, which is available with some native grasses or grass mixes, it can take a while for the grasses to knit together into what we think of as a traditional lawn.
That’s one of many reasons you should consider reducing the dimensions of your old turf lawn when you decide to plant a new lawn with native grasses. Create planting beds in part of the old lawn area to grow food for your family and/or support pollinators, birds and other local wildlife by planting native trees, shrubs and flowers.
Good drainage is critical to maintaining the health of native lawns, said Briana Lyon of California Wild Gardens in Pasadena, an online-only nursery whose products include native grass lawns. Some native wetland grasses like California Meadow Barley (Hordeum brachyantherum ssp. californicum) can live for a short time in standing water, but these are best used to line bioswales where you want to clean rainwater running off from roofs or streets.
Most native grasses prefer dry conditions and full sun. Some, like the fescues, can do well in shade, but Lyon recommends prepping the soil by tilling the top soil 4 to 6 inches deep and adding a mixture of compost and a drainage medium like decomposed granite or sand to encourage good drainage, especially if the ground previously had standing water during heavy rains.
The Kurapia groundcover, juxtaposed with concrete, in the backyard of Ray and Christie Mahr’s home.
(Michael Owen Baker / For The Times)
A corner of John Ellis’ fescue grass lawn.
(Michael Owen Baker / For The Times)
You don’t want to add too many amendments like compost or worm castings, however. “You don’t want to discourage the roots from doing a deep exploration by staying with the yummy stuff on top,” she said.
Weeds are also a problem, especially when the native grasses are trying to get established. Kurapia and some of the grasses can eventually grow dense enough to crowd out most weeds, as long as the weeds don’t get a foothold and crowd the natives out first, so expect to do some regular weed patrols the first year to keep unwanted plants away.
Finally, understand that the type of native grass you choose really depends on how you plan to use the space. If you want a relatively flat, easy-care space where pets and children can frolic then Kurapia may be your best choice. But if your biggest interest is creating an ornamental lawn that’s a feast for the eyes, then look towards the sculptural, undulating bent grasses or fescues.
Here’s a list of some of the more popular native grasses to consider, with this note too: Some of these grasses are native to other parts of North America too, or even other countries, in addition to California, so if in doubt, check the botanical names, consult with guides like Bornstein’s books or talk to native plant experts at the Theodore Payne Foundation, Tree of Life Nursery, the California Botanic Garden in Claremont or the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.
A close up view of Kurapia groundcover at Christie and Ray Mahr’s Ventura home.
(Michael Owen Baker / For The Times)
1. Kurapia
People use lots of exclamation points when they talk about Kurapia, which, for the record, isn’t a grass at all. It’s a sterile patented hybrid of a native broadleaf groundcover from the verbena family commonly known as frog fruit or lippia (Phyla nodiflora), named after the Japanese hybridizer, Utsunomiya University professor Hitoshi Kuramochi, and the origin plant, lippia. Robert Sjoquist of Soils Solutions in Ventura can’t sing its praises high enough. Sjoquist is a distributor who sells native grasses all over Southern California, but Kurapia is one of his favorites, he said, because it spreads like a carpet with pretty clover-like flowers, requires almost no water or maintenance to stay beautifully green, quickly stabilizes hillsides and slopes and helps prevent wildfire damage by snuffing out embers as they fall.
It also spreads quickly and is relatively easy to propagate, which is why the breeder, Kurapia Inc., carefully guards its latest strains, Kurapia New White and Kurapia Pink (named for the color of its flowers). These new strains can only be purchased online, through the company, said senior manager Lawrence Ziese. They’re only available in plug form now, although the company hopes to have a sod version available soon. A flat of 72 plugs, which covers roughly 97 square feet, costs $173 for the “new white” color and $187 for the pink.
Ziese said the new versions grow more densely than the company’s first offering, known as Kurapia S1, which is grown in 2-by-5-foot sod sections by Delta Bluegrass in Stockton and delivered by truck. (West Coast Turf of Palm Desert also sells Kurapia S1 sod, but is currently out of stock.) Sod is more expensive — about $315 to $340 to cover roughly 100 square feet — but you also get an established lawn in less than half the time, said Sjoquist.
Christie and Ray Mahr stand with their dogs Maggie, front, and Colt on the Kurapia groundcover in their backyard.
(Michael Owen Baker / For The Times)
“It looks so good it almost looks like fake grass because of how uniform and low growing it is,” said Lyon. It thrives in poor soils, even sand and salty soils, as long as it has good drainage, she said. It’s important to keep it weeded in the beginning, until it becomes established.
Christie and Ray Mahr of Ventura say they and their dogs love the 3-year-old Kurapia lawn in their backyard. They planted the lawn themselves from plugs — a job that took just a couple hours, Christie said — and it took some maintenance the first few months to keep weeds from resprouting. But she and Ray say that’s nothing compared to the work that went in to mowing and watering the Marathon turf lawn they had before. Now they rarely water the lawn. It seems to get enough water from the drip lines for trees and other plants.
They use hand clippers to keep tendrils from growing beyond the lawn boundaries and Ray mows just once or twice a year to remove the flowers that come in the spring to early summer. “They most definitely brings bees to your garden,” Christie said. “I won’t even come out here and walk unless I’ve got tennis shoes on because otherwise you know you’re going to step on a bee or a butterfly.”
Lippia, used as an alternative to traditional lawn, in Redlands.
(Brian Chau)
2. Frog fruit, a.k.a. lippia (Phyla nodiflora)
The parent of Kurapia is endemic to California and many other parts of the world, including Texas and the southeastern coast of the United States. Like Kurapia, it needs very little water and thrives in heat. Southern California landscape designers looked into lippia as a lawn replacement in the 1970s, Lyon said, but quickly abandoned the idea “because it seeded so aggressively,” spreading into neighboring yards or planting areas where it wasn’t wanted.
But Brian Chau of Redlands said he hasn’t really seen that problem in his front yard. Chau usually blogs about fishing, but he created a YouTube video to show off his lush lippia lawn, which he planted in 2021. He first tore out his traditional lawn and planted yarrow, which didn’t do very well, so he tilled the yard again, removing the yarrow (which still sprouts up now and again) and planted lippia. Chau said he chose lippia rather than Kurapia because it was a “fraction of the cost” to purchase — $15 for a flat of roughly 50 plugs at the time, versus around $60 for Kurapia, he said.
He buried a drip irrigation system in his yard, which he doesn’t use at all during the cooler months, and turns on for just a few minutes two or three times a week during the hottest part of summer to keep his lawn watered. “It’s just a burst of water during those times, but now I’m trying to do it just once a week for a longer period, just to experiment.”
The lawn grows more leggy and less vigorously in shady parts of his yard, and like Kurapia, its flowers are a huge draw for bees and other pollinators, Chau said. “So if you’re allergic or terrified of bees, this lawn isn’t for you, but if you don’t mind bees, the lippia is great for attracting pollinators to our fruit trees and native plants.”
Chau said his son plays on the lawn regularly. “He runs around and beats the lawn down, but it doesn’t complain too much,” he said. “It always bounces back, but it would be detrimental to have an animal rooting around in it.” He uses hand clippers to trim back the plants trying to grow outside the lawn borders, and replants those cuttings to fill in areas that are looking thin. The cuttings “root very easily in water or moist soil,” he said, “so I don’t have to buy flats anymore.”
Native bent grass at the Carpenteria Seaside Park.
(Jeanette Marantos / Los Angeles Times)
3. Native bent grass (Agrostis pallens)
If you love the look of a wild meadow-like lawn, native bent grass is a beautiful and fairly durable choice. Lyon said bent grass makes one of the most pet and kid friendly native grass lawns.
The city of Carpenteria planted a bent grass lawn from seed when it created Seaside Park near the library in 2014, and it’s been a handsome, easy-care choice that requires little water, said Tiffany Smith, the city’s parks and facilities maintenance supervisor.
“We mow it probably every three months at the most, so three or four times a year, and the water savings are huge. We water with regular lawn sprinklers once a week in the summer for 20 minutes or so, just enough to get the water down 2 inches,” she said. “And we’ve had almost no weeds. Every once in a while a broad leaf weed comes up and we just pull it. … We love it.”
She said they mow the lawn down to about 3 inches tall, but it grows back quickly into luxuriant waves.
Carpenteria rarely sees summer temperatures much higher than 90, but in the hottest months the lawn never seems stressed — even after people have been sitting in it. It only gets light foot traffic, Smith said, but the city is so pleased with its performance after 10 years that it’s considering whether to remove the turf lawn around the library and replant with bent grass to create a uniform look.
“I bet we could easily cut our water use by two thirds,” she said.
Three native fescue grasses create a lush green meadow effect in the front yard of John Ellis’ Westlake Village home.
(Michael Owen Baker / For The Times)
4. Native fescues (Festucas)
If you want a lush, light-catching lawn to gaze upon, native fescues are one of your best bets, especially in a shady area, said Lyon.
Delta Bluegrass makes a mow-free sod mix of three native fescues — Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis), Molate fescue (Festuca rubra) and Western Mokelumne fescue (Festuca occidentalis) that requires very little care, said John Ellis, who replaced the 1,000-square-foot turf lawn outside his Westlake Village home with mow-free fescues in December 2022.
His children are grown and no pets play on the lawn out front, so it doesn’t get much traffic, Ellis said, “but I will tell you that every kid or dog that comes by rolls around the grass. They touch it and they’re walking in it.”
Too much traffic isn’t great for the fescues, however, said Lyon, because the fescues are probably the least drought tolerant of the native grasses, and incompatible with pets. “It kills patches of the lawn if a dog pees on it.”
But if you’re looking for sculptural beauty, this is the lawn for you. Ellis figures his irrigation costs have dropped by 60%, even in his area near Thousand Oaks where temperatures can easily hover around 100 degrees during the summer. He bought the sod through Soils Solutions and hired Robert Olsen of Goldenstate Landscapes in Camarillo to remove the old lawn and install a copper-lined drip irrigation system on a smart system that adjusts watering based on moisture in the ground. All told, he figures he spent $9,000 on the project, and is delighted with the results.
John Ellis’ lawn of native fescue grass, left, by his neighbor’s lawn, right.
(Michael Owen Baker / For The Times)
His biggest comment from neighbors is wondering if he plans to mow his lawn, Ellis said, but he likes the look of the grass flopping over. His work included installing a 12-inch barrier between his yard and his neighbor’s to ensure his grasses didn’t mingle with theirs, but the difference in color is startling. His neighbors’ lawns are both green and thick, but they look pale in comparison to his deep green growth.
Ellis said he’s had some issues with tendrils of his old Bermuda grass trying to grow through. But most weeds have been smothered, and he’s been able to pull out any Bermuda grasses he finds. “You have to stay on top of it,” he said, “but so far this has been the best choice for us.”
Various species of sharks — some of which are endangered, while others are listed as vulnerable — are hauled on shore at dawn at the Tanjung Luar port on June 9, 2025, in East Lombok, Indonesia. Tanjung Luar is one of the largest shark markets in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, from where shark fins are exported to other Asian markets — primarily Hong Kong and China — and their bones are used in cosmetic products also sold to China.
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“We were fighting over who had caught more fish, and then I saw my crewmate pushed overboard by the captain,” Akbar Fitrian, 29, an Indonesian crewmember says as he recounts an incident aboard a Chinese-owned fishing vessel in 2022. “The ship then started to drive away as my crewmate tried to swim towards us. And then I don’t know what happened. The captain never reported the incident.”
The seas of Southeast Asia — home to some of the richest in biodiversity in the world — have long been in decline. Since the 1950s, the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates that 70-95% of fish stocks have been depleted and are at risk of collapse, perpetuated by the rise of industrial-scale fishing, much of which is illegal. Legal overfishing is another factor, and both are propped up by weak regulations, insufficient monitoring and insatiable demand. Approximately half of the world’s global marine fish catch comes from the seas of Southeast Asia, according to the U.N., and it comes at a calamitous cost.
In the United States, approximately 50% of the imported seafood comes from Asia, with nearly $6.3 billion in trade coming from China, Vietnam, Indonesia and India alone, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Behind the illicit seafood trade is an opaque world standing at the crossroads of intertwining issues. There is the legacy of brutal human rights violations that have enabled sea slavery to become the norm. Those involved in the efforts of organizations like the international Freedom Fund and Thailand’s Labour Protection Network, which work to end modern-day slavery in the region, say many workers are murdered at sea, abused and often brought into a cycle of debt bondage.
There is the lawless nature of the seas, which has emboldened traffickers to exploit desperate fishermen and impoverished casual laborers. Then there are the geopolitical factors at play: In a race to dominate the seas, China and, to a lesser extent, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan and Malaysia have all built outposts and bases on shoals, reefs and atolls. Fishing fleets — of which China has the largest in the world — are fast becoming more militarized as a result.
All of this has imposed a heavy cost on unique ecosystems and led to devastating socioeconomic impacts on artisanal and small-scale fishers.
Three countries illustrate the intersectional nature of overfishing:
Thailand
Fishing vessels are seen docked together at a landing site in Chumphon, Thailand, on Jan. 22, 2025.
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“Fish were in abundance before,” says Mimit Hantele, 53, a member of the Urak Lawoi tribe on the island of Koh Lipe in Thailand. “But now, the fishing season is a lot shorter, the variety of fish is far fewer, and I sell less. So I take tourists out on scuba expeditions to earn money.”
For generations, the Urak Lawoi plied the rich waters around them for sustenance. Sea gypsies in a time past, the villagers evolved to rely only on what they could catch and used simple fishing equipment cast from small wooden boats.
Then, in the 1970s, came the big Thai and Malaysian fishing boats. Fishermen on Koh Lipe say the boats fish illegally around the island, appearing only at night to escape detection and in a protected national forest area. The ships use purse seiner nets and demersal trawlers, destroying the coral underneath and, consequently, the habitat for fish. Such overexploitation has led the Indigenous group to turn to tourism to make up for lost income and declining fish stocks. “Fishing is in our blood,” Hantele said, but “our way of life has changed. We can’t rely only on the fish.”
Frozen Spanish mackerel and other species of fish in cold storage in Samut Sakhon, Thailand, on Jan. 15, 2025.
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Fishermen mend nets in Samut Sakhon, Thailand, on Jan. 15, 2025.
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Small-scale artisanal fishermen shake sardines from nets to gather them en masse after returning to shore with their catch, in the Gulf of Thailand, off the coast of Prachuap, Thailand, on Jan. 20, 2025.
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According to a 2001 report from the U.N., roughly 80% of fishers in Southeast Asia at the time were small-scale or artisanal, relying on traditional practices. However, declining nearshore fish stocks have forced many artisanal fishers to venture farther from shore in search of commercially valuable species. Added to that are government subsidies for fuel and tax breaks for commercial fishing vessels, which have propped up the seafood industry. Rapid advancement in maritime technology has made fleets far more effective at finding rich hunting grounds while avoiding detection by switching off their monitoring systems.
Oranee Jongkolpath, 30, a veterinarian at Thailand’s Department of Marine and Coastal Resources’ research and development center in the Rayong province, prepares to clean a hawksbill turtle in Prasae, Thailand, on Jan. 18, 2025. The turtle was found by fishermen in a garbage patch and was likely entangled in ghost nets — fishing nets that are lost or discarded by fishermen — that had caused severe damage to its two front flippers.
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A seafood merchant displays dried seahorses for sale in Chumphon, Thailand, on Jan. 22, 2025. Dozens of countries around the world are involved in the dried seahorse trade, with Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam and India being the largest exporters. As the trade of seahorses, which are typically used for traditional medicines, has sharply increased, the seahorse catch has declined over time. Seahorses are among the species protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
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Lax regulations on the most destructive types of fishing, particularly demersal trawling and cyanide fishing, the capture of juvenile fish that prevents the replenishment of stocks, the poor oversight of labor laws and the exploitation of workers desperate to earn a living have all contributed to the devastating knock-on effects for communities along coastlines and the potentially irreversible environmental consequences.
Members of a crew working on a Thai fishing vessel, most of whom are from Myanmar, prepare to show their documents to Port In Port Out (PIPO) inspectors in Chumphon, Thailand, on Jan. 22, 2025. PIPO inspection centers were set up in 2018, following an outcry in the international community over Thailand’s gross human rights abuses in its fishing industry.
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A Burmese dock worker sorts fish after a catch from a Thai vessel was unloaded in Ranong, Thailand, on Jan. 23, 2025.
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In Thailand last year, artisanal fishermen held protests over the rollback of major fisheries reforms implemented a decade ago that had helped to rebuild fish stocks in Thai waters. Thai corporations, which own a significant share of commercial fishing vessels, pushed the government to deregulate the fishing industry to increase their profits. Protestors focused on their concerns that relaxing the rules would revive illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and lead to increased overfishing. The rollbacks, they argued, would reduce transparency and accountability across the industry and reduce checks on gear and labor. Less transparency would lead to less knowledge about what is left in the sea. In turn, sustainability decreases, hurting artisanal fishers who depend on the sea for sustenance and livelihoods.
The Philippines
Filipino fishermen unload Yellowfin tuna, Bigeye tuna and blue marlin at a fish port in General Santos, the Philippines, on May 21, 2025.
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The first time Donald Carmen was harassed by Chinese boats off the coast of Palawan was in December 2024. The following February, they harassed him and another fisherman again, getting close enough to hit their outriggers. “They forced us to move away and recorded us with cell phones and cameras. I have been fishing in this area since 2016, and back then, everyone was free to fish. I would catch 400-500 kilograms of fish in a night, about 60 nautical miles offshore. Now, because I don’t dare venture out as far, I’m lucky if I catch 200-300 kilograms over three days,” Carmen said as he steered his banca just weeks later, on the lookout for Chinese fishing boats and militia.
A drone shot of the shoreline in Rizal, Palawan, the Philippines, on May 28, 2025. Many fishermen here have lost more than half their incomes because of harassment by Chinese ships, limiting the distances they can go out to sea to fish for specific species.
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Vincent Gehisan, 36, enjoys a meal at his home in Quezon, Palawan, the Philippines, on May 24, 2025. Gehisan was hassled and detained for nearly a day at sea by Chinese Coast Guard and navy ships while out on a resupply mission the year before and now says he’s afraid to venture far from Filipino shores to fish.
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People sing karaoke on May 21, 2025, at a local bar near the main fish port complex in General Santos, the Philippines, where the clientele are mainly fishermen on their days off.
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Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is inextricably linked to the geopolitical struggle for maritime dominance in the South China Sea. Over the past two decades, China has rapidly scaled up its fishing militias in a race to assert control over a vast area while trying to meet the country’s insatiable demand for seafood. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Taiwan have followed suit on a much smaller scale.
The South China Sea — or the East Sea, as Vietnam calls it, and the West Philippine Sea, as it’s known in the Philippines — is one of the world’s most strategic waterways. China’s use of its fishing fleet to control trade routes and dominate territory to create maritime buffer zones threatens the food security and livelihoods of fishers in the region.
Family members of Filipino fishermen place bait on fishing lines in Quezon, Palawan, the Philippines, on May 24, 2025.
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Small-scale Filipino fishermen unload their catch a fish port in General Santos, the Philippines, on May 22, 2025. The city is known as the Philippines’ tuna capital and hub for tuna fishing and products exports.
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While Chinese aggression has persisted for years in areas off Zambales, a province of the Philippines, it has only recently affected waters off the coast of Rizal in Palawan, as China is believed to be building up its presence in the Sabina and Bombay shoals, much closer to the Filipino coast — encroaching on the Philippines’ claim to the Kalayaan Island Group — from its original areas of claim like the Spratly Islands and the Scarborough Shoal. Among some of the tactics used by Chinese fishing militias to deter fishermen are water cannons, using swarming and encircling techniques, military-grade lasers and ramming fishing boats to intimidate and drive them from fishing grounds.
As countries in the region militarize their fishing fleets, the cost will ultimately be detrimental to ecological sustainability and geopolitical stability.
Indonesia
Indonesian fishermen unload various species, including sharks and wedgefish, which are one of the most threatened, in Tegal, Indonesia, on June 13, 2025.
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In Indonesia, poverty, lack of opportunities and desperation have pushed thousands of Indonesian men into trafficking circles, while others are lured by the promises of a well-paid job in the construction or service industries before being put aboard a fishing vessel unbeknownst to them. Patima Tungpuchayakul, the founder of Thailand’s Labour Protection Network, says hundreds of fishermen go missing from commercial vessels each year, and many more are brutalized while facing appalling conditions and inhumane, unsanitary conditions on board, often at the mercy of the captain or the ship’s owners.
Labor rights activists at the Migrant Resource Center in Pemalang, Indonesia, fishermen and a widow of a woman still fighting for compensation after her husband’s death say agencies in central Java are adept at recruiting Indonesian crew to work primarily on Chinese fishing vessels, entrapping them in a cycle of debt bondage and, in many cases, effectively enslaving them at sea. Workers are not offered compensation for death or injuries unless they or their families were aware of what kind of insurance the vessel owner had for them. In the worst circumstances, they face brutal working conditions and 16- to 22-hour workdays and are often subject to physical violence.
Fishmongers gather to sell the catch brought in at dawn by fishermen at the Tanjung Luar port on June 9, 2025, in East Lombok, Indonesia.
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A drone image of the largest commercial fish port in Indonesia, Muara Angke, where hundreds of commercial fishing vessels are docked, in Jakarta, Indonesia, on June 15, 2025.
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A fisherman poses for a photo in Pemalang, Indonesia, on June 13, 2025. Both Tegal and Pemalang are known as hubs for recruiting laborers who then work on commercial fishing vessels for Chinese, Taiwanese and Korean companies.
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Southeast Asia is still a hub for slave labor, primarily in Thailand and Indonesia, where the seafood trade contributes much of the tuna, shrimp and trash fish used for fishmeal to the supply chains of major retailers and pet food brands in the U.S. and Europe.
“There is now less physical violence and coercion — but coercion is now more debt-based,” says Rosia Wongsuban, a program advisor at the Freedom Fund, a nonprofit working to end modern-day slavery. “Working conditions are the same. Because of a labor shortage, there aren’t enough workers to operate on vessels, and then the crew needs to take the extra burden.”
“In order to work on the fishing vessel, which was Chinese-owned, I was given a loan of 4 million Rupiah,” Akbar Fitrian, 29, a fisherman interviewed in Jakarta, explains. “1 million went to paying for fishing equipment, and then I had to work until I paid back the other 3 million. Sometimes, I had to keep borrowing more to continue working to pay off the initial loan. Sometimes I would only end up with enough salary to buy cigarettes. Sometimes I went into the red.”
Anis Khuprotin, 28, rests her head on the gravesite of her husband, Muhamad Nur, in Tegal, Indonesia, on June 13, 2025. Anis’ husband died on board a commercial fishing vessel after a piece of equipment came loose and struck him in the head. Staff from the recruiting agency the hired her husband told her he died of a heart attack instead of admitting the truth in an attempt to avoid paying insurance fees to the family.
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Indra, 28, who declined to provide his last name out of fear for his safety, dresses as a clown and plays music to earn some extra money in his neighborhood in Jakarta, Indonesia, on June 14, 2025. Indra, who previously worked on a commercial fishing vessel, recounted harrowing experiences at sea, where he said he witnessed abuses of his fellow cremates. Since returning home, he’s refused to sign up for another job on a commercial fishing vessel, but says he has limited opportunities owing to the lack of a school degree. He currently works in a warehouse, packing boxes, and dresses as a clown to earn extra income.
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Nicole Tung/Fondation Carmignac
Fishermen play a card game on June 10, 2025, on Maringkik Island, off the caost of East Lombok, Indonesia.
Nicole Tung/Fondation Carmignac
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Nicole Tung/Fondation Carmignac
For the nearly 10 million people who rely on these fisheries for their livelihoods and source of protein, the future of Southeast Asia’s fisheries hangs in the balance, at the mercy of consumer demand and political will to enforce laws. The region faces not just ecological collapse, but deepening poverty, food insecurity and social instability if illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing continues unchecked. Overfishing occurs because high demand and global overconsumption for seafood far exceed the ocean’s ability to replenish itself. Growing markets — especially in China, the European Union and North America — have transformed fish and fish products into a highly profitable global commodity. Exports from Southeast Asia alone amount to over $5 billion worth of fish products to the United States each year, illustrating the scale of international trade. This demand fuels industrial-scale fishing operations such as bottom trawlers and purse seiners, which sweep through vast areas of ocean indiscriminately. Supported by government subsidies, these fleets prioritize maximum yield, even when fish stocks are already severely depleted.
But decline is not inevitable. With stronger regional cooperation, transparent supply chains, corporate accountability and informed consumer choices, Southeast Asia can reclaim stewardship over its waters. The survival of its fisheries — and of the communities that depend on them — hinges on decisions being made now, far from shore.
Various species of sharks — some of which are endangered while others are listed as vulnerable — are hauled on shore at dawn by commercial fishermen at the Tanjung Luar port on June 10, 2025, in East Lombok, Indonesia.
Nicole Tung/Fondation Carmignac
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Nicole Tung/Fondation Carmignac
This body of work, based on a nine-month-long investigation supported by the Fondation Carmignac, is on exhibit at the Bronx Documentary Center through April 26.
Nicole Tung is a photojournalist working primarily in the Middle East and Asia. You can see more of her work on her website, NicoleTung.com, or on Instagram, at @nicoletung.
This story is part of Image’s April’s Thresholds issue, a tour of L.A. architecture as it’s actually experienced.
If you buy a product linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission. See all our Coveted lists of mandatory items here.
Yont Studio, Brutalist Pink Vinyl Listening Station, price upon request
(Serdar Ayvaz / Yont Studio)
In the best version of my dreams, I am listening to my favorite records out of the Brutalist Pink Vinyl Listening Station from Berlin-based Yont Studio. The structure — built of foam that’s been reinforced with epoxy layers and finished in a gloss — hugs a Technics SL-1200 MK7 turntable while featuring a dedicated space for records and headphones, with an integrated amplifier and wheels. The baby pink colorway gives it a hard-soft quality that’s hard to match. yontstudio.com
Waka Waka, Double Cylinder Rocker, $3,600
Designer Shin Okuda has described his design principle as such: “Minimum design. Conscious proportion.” The furniture from Okuda’s Los Angeles studio Waka Waka injects something deeply cool into the everyday. This rocking chair is equal parts dramatic and functional, featuring a stacked cylinder back, rocker frame and arm rests in a black glossy finish. (Other finishes include natural oil, white, pompeii red, indigo, grey, purple and forest green.) wakawaka.world
Gambol Studio X Dusty Ansell, knives, $230
Every item in your home being beautiful and well-designed is a flex, down to your cheese knives. Designed by L.A. studio Gambol and handmade by folk artist Dusty Ansell in a set of three, these knives are made of curly maple and stainless steel, featuring etched artwork depicting a hand, arm and fish. gambol.studio
Schiaparelli, Pierced Mouth Bijoux Minaudière, $13,300
Every design-meets-fashion head’s dream is having a pierced mouth clutch molded out of a rigid wood, no? This minaudière from Schiaparelli features a gold-plated metal chain and rhinestone piercing, bringing the idea of a statement bag to levels unheard of. schiaparelli.com
Hannah Lim X Hugo Harris, Bat Shelf, price upon request
(Hannah Lim and Hugo Harris)
Operating as a functional sculpture, the Bat Shelf is a collaboration between London artists Hannah Lim and Hugo Harris. The piece takes inspiration from Chinese fretwork patterns, Art Noveau designs and German sculptor Hugo Leven’s iconic pewter bat candelabras. Cut and welded from 5mm aluminum, the Bat Shelf comes in a raw aluminum finish or a powder-coated red. hannah-lim.co.uk ; hugoharris.co.uk
Formas, Clear Special Vase by Gaetano Pesce, $650
L.A. is so lucky to have Formas, a curated vintage and contemporary design store in the Arts District founded by Natalia Luna and Josh Terris. Formas’ collection is deep and well-researched, filled with rare furniture and design objects like this Clear Special Vase from iconic Italian architect and designer Gaetano Pesce. Handmade of flexible resin, each vase made in this series is a unique creation. formas.la
Estudio Persona, Luna Table Lamp, $2,500
Estudio Persona, the L.A. studio run by Uruguayan design duo Emiliana Gonzalez and Jessie Young, is a living, breathing wishlist. Made of metal and hand-blown glass, this lamp is the place where angles meet curves — a timeless piece with a healthy dose of edge. estudiopersona.com
Alaïa, nylon Maxi Petticoat, $5,030
When we think of an Alaïa piece we’re essentially thinking about shapes — of the body, of the clothes, of the shape made by the clothes on the body. This nylon Maxi Petticoat from the spring/summer 2026 collection, with its asymmetrical hemline and voluminous fit, is a kind of architecture, a way to build yourself into the world around you. maison-alaia.com
Loewe, Aire Sutileza Elixir Eau de Parfum 50Ml, $210
Image April 2026 Coveted
(Loewe Perfumes)
Loewe has added another perfume to its scent directory, and the sixth Elixir in a collection of fragrances that boast an intense concentration of essential oils created by the brand’s perfumer Núria Cruelles with the Spanish Rockrose in mind. The Aire Sutileza Elixir is floral, fresh and earthy, featuring notes of pear, lemon, jasmine sambac, vetiver, sandalwood and musk. perfumesloewe.com
Sunday Puzzle
NPR
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NPR
This week’s challenge
Today’s puzzle is a tribute to Mimi. Every answer is a familiar two word phrase or name in which each word starts with the letters MI-.
Ex. Assignment for soldiers –> MILITARY MISSION
1. Pageant title for a contestant from Detroit
2. One of the Twin Cities
3. Nickname for the river through New Orleans
4. Super short skirt
5. Neighborhood in Los Angeles that contains Museum Row
6. Just over four times the distance from the earth to the moon
7. Goateed sing-along conductor of old TV
8. American financier who pioneered so-called “junk bonds”
9. Little accident
10. Land-based weapon in America’s nuclear arsenal
11. In “Snow White,” the evil queen’s words before “on the wall”
Last week’s challenge
Last week’s challenge comes from Benita Rice, of Salem, Ore. Name a famous foreign landmark (5,4). Change the eighth letter to a V and rearrange the result to make an adjective that describes this landmark. What landmark is it?
Answer
Notre Dame –> Renovated
Winner
Chee Sing Lee of Bangor, Maine
This week’s challenge
This week’s challenge comes from James Ellison, of Jefferson City, Mo. Think of a popular movie of the past decade. Change the last letter in its title. The result will suggest a lawsuit between two politicians of the late 20th century — one Republican and one Democrat. What’s the movie and who are the people?
If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it below by Thursday, April 23 at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners whose answers are selected win a chance to play the on-air puzzle.
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