Fishing is said to be the most dangerous and deadly occupation in the world. A Pew (2022) study found at least 100,000 people die each year and countless are injured. An Environmental Justice Foundation (2019) report found slavery, debt bondage, insufficient food and water, filthy living conditions, physical and sexual assaults and murders aboard fishing vessels from 13 countries including from the EU, USA, Asia, and South America.
In China and Taiwan fishermen have someone who protects them. Her name is Mazu, their "Heavenly Queen".
Mazu is the most worshiped Sea God in the World. It has been estimated there are more than 200 million people who worship Mazu. Mazu worshipers focus their adoration for her at temples and rituals in Fujian province and Taiwan but Mazu temples have been built in Honolulu, Hawai’i and elsewhere.
Fujian in southeastern China borders the Taiwan Strait and is culturally close to Taiwan. The political and cultural situation in this region is fascinating. As a result of the 1949 Chinese civil war mainland Fujian became part of the People’s Republic of China but three island archipelagos just off the coast of Fujian Province remained part of Taiwan (Matsu, Wuqiu and Kinmen Islands). The region is known as Fuchien (Wikipedia, 2025), or the “Golden Horse” (a Chinese character abbreviation for Kinmen-Matsu).
The birthday of Mazu is the 23rd day of the third lunar month (it was February 23, 2025, and will be February 17, 2026). On this day thousands of fishermen go to the Mazu temples to pay their respects. At the Mazu festivals women dress in beautiful traditional styles (flat hair coils, red coats, black pants).
Mazu was said to be born on Meizhou Island, one of the small islands off the coast of Fujian whose population of about 40,000 consist mostly of fishermen. The Mazu ancestral temple, said to be built after Mazu’s death in the 10th century, has now been completely renovated and enlarged to accommodate the many who come to respect her. It is estimated that Mazu is worshipped by about 10 million in Fujian/Taiwan alone.
In October 2023 Mazu and Buddhist leaders held a ritual in a temple in the mountains of central Taiwan. They chanted in front of statues of the Buddha and Mazu…"We wish for Taiwan to be a blessed island but not an island with military arsenals ... not to become an island of battlefields."
References
EJF (2019) Blood and Water: Human rights abuse in the global seafood industry https://maritime-executive.com/article/blood-and-water-slavery-in-the-fishing-industry-revealed Blood-water-06-2019-final.pdf
Fuchien. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujian [Accessed July 14, 2025]
Pew (2022). More than 100,000 fishing-related deaths occur each year. https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2022/11/more-than-100000-fishing-related-deaths-occur-each-year-study-finds
