Unsustainable sea-farers: the last Bajau sea nomads

Now in her 50s, Ibu Diana Botutihe is one of the few remaining Bajau to have lived her entire life on a boat, visiting land only briefly in order to trade fish for rice, water and other staples. What makes Diana's life at sea all the more remarkable is the fact that her traditional lepa-lepa boat measures just 5m long and 1.5m wide
Photograph: James Morgan

As one of the world's last surviving sea nomads, Diana's cramped boat is filled with the accoutrements of everyday living – jerry cans, blackened stockpots, plastic utensils, a kerosene lamp and a pair of pot plants. Malay people have lived at sea for centuries, plying a tract of ocean between the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia
Photograph: James Morgan

Ibu Ane looks on as her son Ramdan forages the reef for clams. Since Ane's husband died of the bends as a result of diving, she has relied on her son to support her during their six-month-long stints at sea Photograph: James Morgan

Marine nomads such as Imran in Sulawesi, Indonesia, are highly skilled. To avoid a painful bite, Imran will catch this box fish by placing his thumb and forefinger in its eye sockets. Once the fish is essentially blindfolded, Imran will lead it back to his boat Photograph: James Morgan

Jatmin, an octopus specialist, swims back to his boat carrying a freshly speared cephalod mollusc Photograph: James Morgan

Since diving is the main occupation for the Bajau people, they deliberately rupture their eardrums at an early age. Unsurprisingly, most older Bajau are hard of hearing. They hunt with spear guns fashioned from boat timber, tyre rubber and scrap metal Photograph: James Morgan

Bada Ipus lays out a square kilometre of net. He says that when he was young his nets were much smaller – but his catches were much bigger Photograph: James Morgan

Moen Lanke, wearing his hand-made wooden goggles seconds after freediving for clams with a tyre iron. The weight of the iron holds him down on the ocean floor, allowing him to run along the reefs and hunt for pearls and sea cucumbers Photograph: James Morgan

While few young children are now born on boats, the ocean is still very much their playground – as demonstrated by Enal, photographed playing with his pet shark in Wangi Wangi, Indonesia Photograph: James Morgan

Pak Siding Salihing improvises a song. Traditional Bajau cosmology is a combination of animism and Islam that reveals a complex relationship with the ocean Photograph: James Morgan

Charities such as WWF and Conservation International are helping create marine management programmes that encourage sustainability through no-fish zones and a return to traditional fishing methods. It is often the Bajau who pass on such programmes to local communities Photograph: James Morgan