 Gerd Koch brought his life to a self-determined end on 19 April 2005 off the coast of Newfoundland when travelling by boat to New York.His field work produced 121 documentary films, with the films now held by the TIB in Hanover.His film work includes 15 short documentary films about aspects of Tuvaluan culture and a further 70 films were made by Koch in the Gilbert Islands (Kiribati).