1985. Geraldo Rivera is in the Sulu sea, 500 miles south of Manilla, Philippines with an inside look at how some citizens there make ends meet. Although the Philippines at this time has laws against child labor, they seem to disappear on this particular fishing ship. 70% of the children on board are under the age of 14.
After paying a case of beer, Geraldo and film crew are allowed to tour the ship where most children have never seen Americans or the cameras they bring.
We see the children dive for fish, going 80′ on a single breath of air, regularly for over 3 minutes. An underwater camera shows the details of their method of fishing which involves dragging a net by hand. The method was adapted from the Japanese. The boat doesn’t stop and the divers jump off and get back on while it is underway.
Later in the segment we hear from the only doctor responsible for thousands of children in the region, Dr. Pepito Lopez. Unfortunately drownings are common as well as a variety of related diseases.
10 dives a day for 10 months out of ear, for about 10 cents per dive, in 1985.