audio, stills, text and or video: Go to zReportage.com to see more - For centuries, the Moken sea nomads have traveled the islands between Thailand and Burma fishing and foraging a life from the sea. Throughout the Mergui Archipelago, Moken ranged in flotillas or 'Kabang', stopping at different islands, their maritime existence recognized no national boundaries. Expert freedivers, the Moken have adapted physically to an aquatic life, developing unique characteristics that let them see better and hold their breath longer while underwater. Today, however, under pressure from the Thai government, and unable to see a viable future after the devastation of the 2004 tsunami and rampant commercial overfishing, all of the Moken in Thailand have settled into villages. Many Moken, born at sea without birth certificates, are treated as stateless and struggle to find jobs. Alcoholism and unemployment rates are high. Many Moken now survive by selling handicrafts as souvenirs and working as boatmen, gardeners and garbage collectors for the tourist industry.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press

Oct 11, 2013 - Ko Surin, Thailand - DANONG, an indigenous Moken man, hunts for fish using a traditional bamboo spear near his village. Due to stricter border control, commercial overfishing, rapid development, and tourism, the Moken have gradually been forced to adopt a settled lifestyle.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press

Oct 11, 2013 - Ko Surin, Thailand - DANONG, an indigenous Moken man, hunts for fish using a traditional bamboo spear near his village. Today, the Moken who live in Koh Surin National Park, one of Thailand's most remote group of islands, have it better than many of their kin and are still able to live a lifestyle largely based on tradition and the sea.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press

Oct 11, 2013 - Ko Surin, Thailand - NGUY, an indigenous Moken man, hunts for fish using a spear near his village. Often called sea nomads or sea gypsies, the Moken are a seafaring people who for centuries lived nomadically on the Andaman Sea.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press

Oct 11, 2013 - Ko Surin, Thailand - NGUY, an indigenous Moken man, rows a sampan out from his village. On these islands, it's possible to see free-diving Moken men spearfishing in the water or groups of women foraging along the shores, tidal pools, and mud flats.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press

Mar 2, 2014 - Ko Surin, Thailand - AKOO, an indigenous Moken man, in his home in Ko Surin National Park.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press

Oct 10, 2013 - Ko Surin, Thailand - The Moken village in Ko Surin National Park, Thailand.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press

Oct 10, 2013 - Ko Surin, Thailand - A Moken man builds a small boat (called Sampan) in his village in the Ko Surin National Park.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press

Feb 28, 2014 - Ko Surin, Thailand - Moken children forage for food during low tide.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press

Oct 11, 2013 - Ko Surin, Thailand - An indigenous Moken man takes his boat out from the beach near his village in Ko Surin National Park.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press

Feb 27, 2014 - Ko Surin, Thailand - Moken men carry parts from a long tail boat engine to shore before fixing a broken propellor. The foremost boat is one of only a few Kabang left in the world. Traditionally, Moken would live most of the year aboard Kabang and each boat would hold a nuclear family.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press

Feb 27, 2014 - Ko Surin, Thailand - NGUY, an indigenous Moken man, takes his boat out as the tide comes in. The boat on the left (identified by it's unique prow design) is one of only a few Kabang left in the world. Traditionally, Moken would live most of the year aboard Kabang and each boat would hold a nuclear family.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press

Feb 27, 2014 - Ko Surin, Thailand - KOH, an indigenous Moken woman, washes her face with freshwater after making charcoal in the jungle.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press

Feb 28, 2014 - Ko Surin, Thailand - A young Moken boy with his face covered in Thanaka takes a break from playing games in front of the village's spirit poles.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press

Mar 1, 2014 - Ko Surin, Thailand - Moken women forage for food during low tide at a beach near their village in Ko Surin National Park.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press

Mar 1, 2014 - Ko Surin, Thailand - Clams collected on a foraging trip in Ko Surin National Park.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press

Oct 11, 2013 - Ko Surin, Thailand - DANONG, an indigenous Moken man, hunts for fish using a traditional bamboo spear near his village in Ko Surin National Park.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press

Feb 28, 2014 - Ko Surin, Thailand - Moken women return to a waiting boat after foraging for food on the rocky shores of the Ko Surin National Park.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press

Mar 1, 2014 - Ko Surin, Thailand - Moken women ride through rough seas on a trip to forage for food on a nearby beach.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press

Feb 28, 2014 - Ko Surin, Thailand - HOOK, a Moken man, fishes for lobster in the waters near his village in the Ko Surin National Park.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press

Mar 1, 2014 - Ko Surin, Thailand - HOOK, an indigenous Moken man, holds a three-pronged throwing spear and searches for fish in the waters of Ko Surin National Park.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press

Feb 28, 2014 - Ko Surin, Thailand - Moken children display a starfish they've found while scavenging at low tide.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press