Fishing takes place in a natural environment that often becomes hostile to people and their vessels. The attitude of fishermen,¹ as that of other seagoing people, is less than perfect for facing the risks and dangers of their vocation before and during their fishing trips. Death at sea is an integral part of the fishing profession and, therefore, the casualty toll must be accepted as a cost of working in this hazardous environment.

Still, this toll can undoubtedly be reduced, if the fishing industry and individual fishermen, national authorities, international organizations and voluntary bodies face this issue with enough thought, consideration, empathy, political will and material means.

Marine fishing has always been the most dangerous of all civilian occupations. According to a 1983 British study, the fatality rate of fishermen in the United Kingdom was 20 times that of workers in manufacturing industries. Labour Canada reported that in 1985 out of every 100,000 workers, 32 construction workers, 74 miners and as many as 212 commercial fishermen died "on the job". Four years later, an American study disclosed that the annual fatality rate for United States commercial fishermen was about seven times higher than the national average for all industries.

The rate of loss of life and other casualties is still higher where artisanal and other small-scale fishermen fish in conditions for which their vessels, and their safety and communication, first aid, search and rescue (SAR) and early warning equipment, are less than adequate. In Guinea, a small country with some 7,000 artisanal, marine fishermen, a survey disclosed that in a year every 15th canoe has an accident and for every 200 registered fishermen one person (male and female fisherfolk, fish traders and their families) dies in a canoe accident.

In Oceania, during the 1989-90 period, some 120 deaths in about 640 accidents were reported. This picture becomes still worse when one adds the sometimes massive losses of life and equipment in tropical storms.

The safety and health of the world’s 15-20 million male and female small-scale and artisanal fishermen have yet to attract adequate attention from either national authorities or international organizations. Instead, what prevails in many countries is the tragedy of official inertia to initiate action, legislate, enact and implement rules and regulations, and to invest the funds for establishing the services essential for reducing the numbers of casualties among small-scale fishermen.

The official, national and international attitude has always been more attentive when it comes to large and medium-scale fishing fleets, although the rate of accidents at sea and casualties among small-scale fishermen is no doubt higher than that in high-seas fishing. Most of the casualties among small-scale fishermen are not covered by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and very few records or statistics are available (Ben-Yami, 1998; Binkley, 1994; Johnson and Toure, 1994; Houehou, 1993; McCoy, 1991; Satia, 1993).

"Small-scale" and "artisanal" fishermen are overlapping terms that cover a very wide range of fish producers who use an equally wide range of fishing technology. In particular, one must recognize the great difference between small-scale fishermen in developed countries with a relatively high level of income and living standards, and artisanal fishermen in developing countries. The former are small-scale producers who often use the most advanced fishing technology and electronics on board, however small their quite advanced fishing craft. The latter, mostly poor fishermen, make their living by operating low-investment boats and fishing equipment. The fish they catch are processed and marketed by hard working women who often suffer from eye diseases and even loss of sight from working in a smoky environment. Most of them live in remote, coastal communities where living standards and the quality of life keep them at the bottom of the socio-economic pyramid. Malnutrition, poor health and short life expectancy are common in many fishing villages, especially those that are remote.

There is a huge difference when it comes to the health and safety of the fishermen at these two extremes.

About half the world’s seafood is caught or otherwise collected by small-scale fishermen (see Definition, below), operating millions of multifarious fishing craft. (Just to give an idea: Portugal alone has over 10,000 fishing boats of less than 10 m in length; there are over 40,000 among the Pacific Islands and even Israel has close to 1,000).

During the last quarter of the twentieth century, small-scale fisheries have been receiving much more attention than at any time before. Several reasons can be given. First, developing countries’ governments, as well as various development agencies and international development banks, have increasingly recognized the role that small-scale fisheries play in their countries’ economies. Second, they have made some rather painful reassessments of their frequently unhappy ventures into large-scale fisheries development. Third, owing to technological and economic factors, small-scale fisheries have been gaining in importance in developed countries as well as in developing countries. Finally, and at least in part as a result of the above, more and more boat and equipment designers and manufacturers are producing designs and products aimed in particular at small-scale fisheries.

In developed and even some developing countries, small-scale fisheries have ceased to be synonymous with backwardness and poverty. This was the result of the development of small fishing craft with a large cruising range, powerful engines, high speed and a fairly high degree of seaworthiness. Many such boats can carry considerable amounts of fish, are equipped with up-to-date technology and, hence, are able to operate a wide variety of fishing gear. These features enable them to work fishing grounds previously inaccessible to small-scale fishermen.

Management regulations limiting fishing boats’ lengths stipulate construction of short, wide, deep and powerful "monstrosities" in both Europe and North America. One example of this is the aluminium-hulled, twin-engine, electronics-laden salmon gill-netters operating in Bristol Bay, Alaska. While limited to 32 ft (9.75 m) in length by law, these boats are very wide, deep and fast. One such boat has three engines with a total power output of 2,000 hp. The investment in a boat of this class may exceed US$300,000.

At the other end of the range, in developing countries, one may encounter artisanal fishermen operating their traditional fishing gear and craft only little different from those already in use hundreds of years ago. In some places, the only advance has been the introduction of synthetics; in others, the outboard engine.

None the less, in some developing countries substantial progress has been made: fishermen using motorized canoes for ring-netting and purse-seining, continuing motorization of traditional fishing craft, introduction of mechanical haulers and echo-sounders, and trawling and shrimping from small boats, to mention a few. Clearly, the sophistication of fish-location and gear-handling techniques, as well as the level of working and living conditions on board vary from place to place, depending on the general and local technology level, the availability of capital and the economic output of the fishery.

Further discussion of risks and dangers in small-scale fisheries, especially in view of the legal aspects, requires stricter definitions. There are two main ways of defining small-scale fisheries: by socio-economic criteria, and by technical criteria.

Socio-economic criteria define small-scale fisherfolk as people of both genders who usually operate their own fishing craft and equipment, and go to sea themselves either alone or with a few crew members (preferably their own relatives). None the less, in many places small-scale fisheries are run by small boat owners employing hired hands and sharing fishermen, etc. In other cases small-scale fishermen may rent out boats and gear from smallholders, usually from their own community. In this respect, company-owned fleets of small fishing craft do not fall under the definition of small-scale fisheries.

However, although socio-economic status, as we shall see later, has a major influence on fishermen’s health and safety, in terms of risks and dangers, and the means of preventing and alleviating them, the technical criteria are more relevant.

Technical criteria (used in this overview) define small-scale fisheries as a sector in which fishermen fish and collect aquatic organisms from beaches, from under ice, either by swimming, diving, or wading, or using small-scale fishing craft. Small-scale fishing craft are defined, for developed countries, as boats of less than 10-12 m LOA and less than 12-15 MT displacement, powered by engines not exceeding 200-300 hp (150-225 kW). For developing countries, this definition also covers canoes, pirogues and open-deck dhows up to 16 m LOA, powered by engines not exceeding 200 hp (150 kW).

Sudden gales, major storms and heavy fog are significant causes of small boat accidents often resulting in capsizing, grounding, becoming lost and collisions. Several types of artisanal fishing craft are buoyant and do not sink even when capsized, which increases the survival chances of their crews. Where weather warning systems and radio communication with fishermen at sea are poor or non-existent, casualties due to bad weather are more frequent.

This is a major cause of accidents. Many small fishing boats are powered by an outboard motor and do not carry either a spare engine or sailing rig.

This is less common on board small fishing craft, as most of them are open boats or rafts where fire detection is usually instantaneous. However, fire on board canoes (and pirogues) powered with outboard engines and carrying large amounts of spare fuel is extremely dangerous.

Many small-scale fishing boats are not designed and constructed to sufficient safety standards. Frequently, also, the boats’ design and construction are unsuitable for the conditions they are used in.

During the last decades of the twentieth century, small fishing craft are sailing farther offshore on prolonged fishing trips. Many of these craft, built for inshore fishing and day trips and often lacking basic safety equipment, are too small and otherwise unsuitable for offshore operations. Consequently, their crews’ safety has steadily deteriorated.

Certain management strategies may motivate fishermen to increase their earnings by taking risks that they would not take otherwise. Such strategies involve, for example, limiting fishing time and area, and transferring and leasing catch quotas, as described below in Short case-study 6: Canada.

Economic hardship, or even transitory financial difficulty, often causes fishermen to take extra risk, when their better judgement might suggest otherwise.

Lack of radio contact essentially precludes efficient SAR action. Additional problems may arise where radio-telephone contact exists, but there is no adequate common language between the people at sea and the people who may help them. Consequences may be tragic.

Trawling vessels of any size may capsize when their gear snags on a fastener (any snaggy obstacle on the sea bottom), while small seiners may capsize under the downward pressure of a large catch of fish "sinking" during the last stage of net hauling. People can be swept overboard if caught up in nets or because of ropage running out while they are setting the gear. Various injuries may occur during fishing both from contact with fishing gear and deck mechanisms, and from bites, stings and tail kicks by fish and other marine animals. Wading and diving fishermen are particularly at danger from large predators and various poisonous creatures.

In many parts of the world, small-scale and artisanal fishermen are unable to operate from fishing ports or shelters and are forced to cross oceanic or other surf on the way to and from the beach or to enter badly accessible shelters and anchorages. Surf crossing takes a big toll on lives and equipment.

Unfortunately, there are no internationally agreed legal instruments in force either for the construction of small (less than 12 m LOA) fishing vessels and the safety equipment required, or for the training and certification of personnel in small-scale and artisanal fisheries. Even the 1993 Protocol to the Torremolinos International Convention on the Safety of Fishing Vessels, which addresses only fishing vessels of 24 m in length and over, has yet to be ratified by most States.

In the mid-1970s, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), ILO and Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO) drew up a code of safety for fishermen and fishing vessels in two parts: Part A for skippers and crews; and Part B for vessel construction and equipment. It is obvious from the contents of Part A that it was not designed for small-scale fishing boats, while Part B is designed explicitly for vessels longer than 24 m. For fishing vessels of 12-24 m there are the 1980 FAO/ILO/IMO Voluntary guidelines for the design, construction and equipment of small fishing vessels. But, judging from the contents of some recent revision proposals to the Guidelines it is clear that they are not applicable to small-scale and artisanal fishing boats.

Of all the international instruments, only Chapter 5 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) makes specific reference to all small and medium-sized fishing vessels, merely requiring "ships of less than 150 tons gross" to be fitted with a steering compass. And that seems to be all there is.

Governments are reluctant to ratify and enact international standards and conventions concerning fishermen’s safety, probably because of the costs to themselves and the industry, and the inconvenience and costs associated with legislating, enacting and enforcing existing ones. They no doubt shun any involvement in new conventions concerning small-scale fisheries because enforcement is even more difficult and costly.

An exception is probably the Nordic Boat Standard for commercial boats, which deals with construction and stability for fishing vessels under 15 m. It is jointly produced by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

Following a disastrous cyclone, which struck the coast of north-east India in 1996, FAO’s Bay of Bengal Programme (BOBP) initiated, along with interested governments and some non-governmental organizations (NGOs), an ongoing activity directed at fishermen’s safety. BOBP is trying to bring the governments and the NGOs together in a concerted effort. This proves to be an uphill task for several reasons, one of them being that some junior government staff apparently have problems in working with the NGOs.

Other FAO-sponsored activities include a regional workshop and seminars with participants from Bangladesh, India, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam. They are aimed at drafting legislation on small vessel safety, as well as training inspectors and boat builders to ensure their capacity to adopt, inspect, certify and enforce new legislation. FAO is also sponsoring the preparation of reports and guidelines addressing the subject of improving the safety of both decked and non-decked small vessels, but these have yet to reach the regulation stage. Unfortunately, few boat owners are willing to voluntarily bear the costs of implementing FAO’s recommendations.

FAO is also planning regional activities for the Caribbean and the Pacific Islands where loss of life of fishermen going further offshore in poorly designed and built craft is increasing. The Caribbean regional project is planning to propose obligatory standards for construction and modification of fishing vessels and to train fishermen, fishing vessel inspectors and boat builders. Governments of the region are already contemplating enforcement of prescribed standards for the construction of small fishing vessels: through (a) amendments to Fisheries Regulations of East Caribbean States and Barbados; and (b) an authorized system for inspecting fishing vessels.

In 1993, the BOBP published the pertinent and very good Safety guide for small offshore fishing boats, targeted at the fisheries of south and south-east Asia (P. Calvert, 1996; IMCO, 1976; IMO, 1998; J. Turner, personal com.).

Developing-world, small-scale (including artisanal) fisheries are defined, for the purpose of this report, as fisheries operating at generally low-technology and low-income levels in developing countries, as well as in certain areas of fairly developed countries where government control of and contribution to services, safety systems, SAR and communications, etc., is poor or non-existent.

As far as the available information goes, government legislation and efforts to alleviate risks and dangers among fishermen are scarce, to say the least, while those already initiated have still to achieve success. In some areas, NGOs are active, mainly concentrating on training in safety measures and emergency equipment and trying to bring the issue to official and public consideration and, occasionally, in actual SAR service.

India’s Merchant Shipping Act contains provisions stipulating that all fishing vessels should carry safety equipment and be subject to inspection. Since the Act defines a fishing vessel as a ship with mechanical propulsion, it can be assumed that this law also covers small, motorized fishing boats.

India has a cyclone warning system based on satellite synoptic observations and a network of coastal radars coupled with a network of S-band receivers. The receivers can be selectively activated as soon as atmospheric conditions indicate development of a cyclone, which gives 48 hours’ warning. Siren signals are sounded and radio warnings in the local language are broadcast. If a cyclone changes its course, this operation is repeated at the coastal area likely to be affected. Additionally, India’s meteorological centre sends cyclone alert messages to government agencies, with 24-hour warning bulletins repeated by coastal radio stations hourly around the clock.

The main problem, therefore, is bringing the warnings in good time to all fishermen at sea and on the beach. Following the cyclone of 1990, which caused heavy damage in Krishna District, a scheme was set up by India’s Department of Fisheries in Machilipatnam to alert artisanal fishermen of approaching cyclones through a VHF radio system. A programme was initiated to provide radio warnings by means of a purpose-built radio station and the distribution (without cost) of 125 walkie-talkie sets. However, it was reported to have failed for technical and other reasons (P. Calvert, 1996, 1998; World Fishing, 1996; J. Turner, personal com.).

Safety regulations specific to small-scale fisheries have been enacted or are being planned in several island nations of the West Indies (P. Medley, J. Turner, personal coms.).

Senegal is typical of West African countries with very developed artisanal fisheries, tens of thousands of seagoing fishermen, and reportedly considerable and in places alarming fishermen’s death rates, largely due to their crossing surf and entering partly sand-barred estuaries.

In 1994, the Ministry of Fishery and Marine Transport prepared a draft Code of Conduct aimed at registration, boat and skipper licensing, mandatory equipment and even insurance, for fishing and passenger canoes (pirogues). It is not known whether this Code has since been amended and/or enacted. With respect to safety, the draft stipulated basic equipment to be carried on board including a spare outboard engine, obligatory boat driver’s tests for skippers and annual inspections (J.P. Johnson, personal com.; Rayment and Fossi, 1994).

A Canadian bilateral project, assisted by FAO/IDAF (Programme for Integrated Development of Artisanal Fisheries in West Africa), was an attempt to set up fishermen’s sea safety committees in Guinea and provided some basic emergency equipment and relevant training. While these reportedly have not survived, a local activist has since followed up by modifying the structure and dynamics of traditional fishermen’s mutual aid societies to include sea safety.

The organizer’s approach is to persuade the members of mutual assistance groups to contribute after each fishing trip a predetermined amount of fish to be sold for the benefit of the group’s safety fund. This money can then be used to buy fuel for SAR action, to pay for emergency medical care, or to repatriate a fisherman’s body to his village for burial.

These artisanal sea safety committees are recognized by Guinea’s Port Authority. Members have received some training on survival after capsizing, fire-fighting, emergency first aid, avoiding collisions, and being rescued without getting killed by the rescuing boat, etc. There are about a dozen such active committees in Guinea at the moment.

This initiative, reportedly, has also spread to Benin, where fishermen’s own sea safety committees have started expanding in a small way (Johnson and Toure, 1994; J.P. Johnson, personal com.).

The situation in developed countries is quite different. Safety measures and SAR systems involving radio-communication and specialized rescue craft are common and efficient, and in some countries a matter of longstanding tradition. But even so, legislation and regulations relating to maintaining safety standards, personnel training, certification and obligatory equipment on board small-scale fishing craft remain either absent or problematic (see below, Short case-study 1: United Kingdom).

There are different traditions and arrangements among the developed countries regarding how SAR services are provided. Three basic forms exist: civilian, voluntary organizations; marine police and coastguard units; and military (navy and air force) units. While SAR is the only purpose of the SAR civilian organizations, the police, coastguard and military forces also have to perform many other duties.

According to New Zealand statistics, every fifth person in the 320 drowned during the 1986-96 period was a commercial fisherman. A voluntary coastguard federation (RNZCF) provides SAR in the country. It responds annually to some 2,000 calls involving twice as many people. It responds to direct calls for help, as well as to calls passed by the New Zealand Police. The RNZCF also provides safety education and a radio network for boats. Operating sea-borne rescue units and an air patrol, it aims to cover most of New Zealand’s waters within the 12-mile coastal zone.

New Zealand has had a real-time vessel monitoring system (VMS) in place for some eight years. It is mandatory only for vessels larger than 28 m. LOA. It is operated by the New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries (Management) compliance unit and is monitored 24 hours a day, all year. VMSs are tamper-proof and are remotely programmed for frequency-of-position reporting by Ministry compliance staff, depending on the degree of perceived risk or previous record of each vessel, skipper, company, etc. Individual vessels can also be specifically polled by the Ministry at any time to spot check position reports, etc. For safety at sea purposes, such a system makes the search element of SAR easier and faster.

The Canadian Coast Guard is the federal agency in charge of marine safety and the SAR provider. Canada also has several NGOs providing SAR. The Canadian Lifeboat Institution has its own SAR and towing and pumping services. It also uses owner-operated vessels and assists citizen groups to develop community marine safety groups.

Another Canadian voluntary group is CASARA, an aviation association sponsored jointly by the Department of Transport and the Department of National Defense which provide training in aviation safety, meteorology, survival awareness and search techniques and procedures. In return, CASARA participates in support services.

In 1972, the Fisheries Association of British Columbia published the Fishermen’s safety manual, much of which is relevant to small-scale fishermen (Safety Committee, 1972; P. Copes, personal com.).

SAR services in the United Kingdom are based on the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboats, operated by volunteers (frequently fishermen themselves) and coastguard and military helicopters; they save some 1,300 people every year. There seems to be a feeling among the fishermen that as the coastguard and armed forces budgets are getting tighter, SAR resources are being reduced. The coastguard also monitors radio and other distress-alerting means, including emergency position-indicating radio beacons (EPIRBs).

The United Kingdom Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions has recently stated that commercial fishing is a particularly hazardous industry and that the continued high incidence of accidents to fishermen and losses of fishing vessels mean that safety standards must be raised and awareness within the industry increased.

The Marine and Coastguard Agency (MCA) targets a reduction in deaths and accident rates on fishing vessels. MCA’s initial aim is compulsory basic safety training in the prevention of accidents, management of emergencies, survival, fire fighting and first aid. Implementation of the Standards of Training Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishermen (STCW-F) Convention provides MCA with an opportunity for a fundamental review of the existing training and certification structure for fishermen on vessels of all sizes. MCA is now working on a revised Code of Safe Practice to replace the Fishing Vessel (Safety Provisions) Rules 1975 for those vessels under 12 m.

However, as the following case-study shows, this is not so simple.

Some 6,000 small-scale (under 12 m long) commercial fishing vessels operate in the United Kingdom, many from beaches and tidal harbours on the south coast. They generally sail on day trips within a 20-mile coastal zone. Many of them are operated by a single fisherman. Sea conditions can be treacherous, especially in the winter when a constant stream of low-pressure systems come cross the Atlantic. Some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world are in that area, with resulting loss of fishing boats from collisions with merchant ships.

The Marine and Coastguard Agency (MCA) was recently formed through a merger of the Marine Safety Agency with Britain’s coastguard services. It is now the authority enforcing Notices to Mariners and other statutory instruments, including safety regulations.

The MCA successfully introduced a series of Codes of Safe Practice (COSP) aimed at chartered angling boats, workboats, sail training vessels and similar craft. These codes have been worked out jointly with representatives of the interested parties. The MCA finds it difficult, however, to complete the work on a revised Code for commercial fishing boats under 12 m in length to replace the Fishing Vessel (Safety Provisions) Rules, 1975 for these vessels. The new COSP would bring everything under one law, replacing dozens of different Notices to Mariners and statutory instruments enacted over the last 30 years.

For years, attempts to apply more rigid controls to this fleet have been met with opposition. One reason may be that the inshore fishery is not the one with the worst safety record. According to coastguard statistics, out of 29 fatalities in 1997 only eight happened in the small-scale sector, the worst safety record belonging to the 12-24 m sector. Opposition increased when the new COSP was formulated with little industry input and approval and, in 1997, the inshore, small-scale fishermen woke up to the fact that the new rules might bring unbearable pressure on them. They claim that the enormous new list of requirements is too complex, depending rather on area of operation than on the size of the boat. It includes fire extinguishers, flares and life jackets for every crew member and over a certain size also life-rafts, which many small boats simply do not have space for. There are also regulations for bilge pumps, bilge alarms, gas alarms and fire alarming systems. The proposed regulation was tested when all the proposed obligatory equipment, including a four-man life-raft, was put on board an 18ft (6 m) beach boat, leaving hardly any space for the two-man crew, fishing pots and baskets.

But it was the provision for mandatory inspections that was met with near universal opposition, for their cost was seen as being too much for an industry already under serious economic pressure. At GBP60 per hour (approximately US$100), an inspection including travelling time for the surveyor might produce a bill for GBP60. Fishermen also complain bitterly that, as it is staffed mainly by ex-merchant navy officers, the MCA has no understanding of the small-scale fishing sector that they are determined to regulate. Thus, in spite of the almost two years of long negotiations and consequent COSP revision which brought it down from a 150-page book to a dozen or so pages, it has not yet been enacted.

The MCA is faced with solid fishermen’s opposition, some of whom see it as an unnecessary bureaucratic exercise aimed at keeping the inshore fishing sector in line with other marine sectors, while others suspect that it is, in fact, an effort to reduce the fishing industry, a notion rejected by the MCA. No doubt, however, that with all the other COSPs in place, the shipping authorities intend to complete the task of having all the small commercial marine sectors regulated by enacting the new COSP in the inshore fishing sector as well. For this purpose, the MCA would have to decide whether the new COSP would come with all the parts that the industry refuses to accept and thus with major enforcement problems, or whether it would be in a form worked out jointly with the industry so that both sides can live with it (Bates, 1999 and personal com.).

The Marine Safety Agency operates SAR services employing patrol vessels, helicopters and aircraft. In 1995, 86 fishermen died in various accidents, while 673 Japanese fishing boats, among them 567 fishing boats less than 20 GRT (a 20 GRT boat is about 15 m in length) needed SAR action. On the whole, the accident rate of fishing boats has been slightly decreasing with time.

Small fishing vessels (under 20 GRT) employed in harvesting seaweed, as well as any other small fishing vessels operating only within the 12-mile coastal zone, must have pyrotechnics or cellular telephones on board. All other small fishing vessels must carry EPIRB and radar transponders.

For fishing vessels of 20 GRT or over there are mandatory detailed safety standards and government inspection. For fishing boats between 3 GRT (a 3 GRT boat is about 8 m in length) and 20 GRT, a mandatory "non-detailed" safety standard is provided jointly by the Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. It covers watertight hull integrity, essential engine tools and equipment, bilge pump, steering, mooring and anchoring equipment, life-saving equipment, fire-fighting equipment, evacuation equipment, navigation instruments, and stability and manoeuvrability requirements. Inspections are carried out by the Japan Craft Inspection Organization.

Additionally, the Fisheries Agency provides voluntary guidelines for fishing boats between 3 and 20 GRT which cover operation practice, daily maintenance, hull structure, accommodation, navigation aids, pump, engine and electrical facilities, and requirements for freeboard, metacentric height, righting arm and roll period, and life-saving and fire-extinguishing equipment. There are no mandatory safety requirements or inspections for boats less than 3 GRT, except if they operate outside the 12-mile coastal zone in which case they are inspected according to the mandatory standard.

To sum up, since most boats under 3 GRT operate within the 12-mile coastal zone, a large section of the Japanese small-scale fisheries is not subject to any mandatory regulation and inspection (N. Umeda, personal com.).

All boats under 25 tons must be licensed with the Department of Transport’s Marine Division. Fishing boats are inspected for seaworthiness and certificates combining a licence and safety certificate are issued, which must be renewed each year. Recreational and sport craft are exempt. Licensed boats may not be used without the person in charge of the boat holding a Small Vessel Certificate of Competency (applies to motorized boats). The certificate specifies the area in which the boat and the skipper may operate. In addition, a Fishing Licence must be obtained from the Department of Sea Fisheries. None the less, especially in more remote areas, there are many artisanal fishermen who go to sea in small boats, as for example, the 8-15ft dinghies (bakkies), some powered by small outboard motors, and others on tow, to which the safety rules are not applied (M. Shenker, personal com.).

The commercial fishing fleet is regulated under a variety of laws and regulations, most of them promulgated by the United States Coast Guard (USCG). Following a series of highly publicized losses in the 1980s and an increased push towards safety, some of the regulations were amended and additional ones enacted. Most of the rules, however, do not apply to the small-scale fleet. For example, skippers of fishing vessels under 200 GT (that do not carry paying passengers) are not required to hold a USCG Mariner’s Licence. Also, stability-related rules apply only to vessels over 79 feet (24 m) in length.

Title 46, Code of Federal Regulations Part 28, spells out the regulations for commercial fishing vessels. Subpart A discusses the general safety requirements that all commercial fishing vessels have to comply with. These include fire-fighting equipment, life-saving gear (EPIRB, exposure suits, rafts, etc.), navigation lights and many other elements. USCG boarding officers perform inspections at sea and fines may be imposed for non-compliance. To help fishermen, the USCG has a shoreside Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety Program – a voluntary compliance programme – and a recently introduced training programme. The Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety Program involves completely voluntary inspections and gives an opportunity to the skipper to bring the vessel into compliance with the regulations without fear of being cited for a violation. The training programme involves mobile training units and distribution of a Best Practice Guide to Vessel Stability. All this, however, is relevant only in part to small fishing boats. In Alaska, for example, many fishing vessels engaged in salmon fishery are under 12 m in length. These boats are all subject to a lengthy list of requirements which varies with overall length, size of crew, whether the vessel is USCG documented or state registered and the maximum distance offshore that it operates. The USCG implements safety rules and measures, and SAR.

On the other hand, the USCG has reportedly strongly resisted any form of licensing programme for smaller-scale commercial fishermen, fearing enforcement and administration difficulties, and that it would be politically difficult to implement since the fishing industry wants to stay as unregulated as possible (J. Van Amerongen, K. Codel, B. Meloy, T. Nies, personal coms.).

In a recently published Notice to Mariners 101/99, the Small Vessels Division of Israel’s Shipping and Ports Authority specifies in great detail the safety and first-aid equipment to be carried by small vessels in accordance with their size, type of business and area of operation. Among others, two classes of fishing craft are explicitly covered:

both types operating within Israel’s (12-mile) national waters.

The list is quite demanding, especially for the 7-24 m class and rich in distress signals. All craft must have the prescribed equipment on board for the obligatory annual inspection and renewal of certificates of seaworthiness. The new regulation was formulated by a commission which studied the relevant Australian, British, Canadian, Scandinavian and United States regulations and standards.

There is no specific SAR agency. SAR services are provided by Police Coast Guard craft and, when necessary, by naval craft and air force aircraft. But, in most cases, also thanks to good radio and cellular telephone contact, fishermen in trouble are helped out by their peers fishing in their vicinity (Ministry of Transport, 1999; S. Pisanty, personal com.).

SAR in Uruguay is provided by ADES, a civilian institution supported by government organizations, private companies and proprietors of the vessels that seek assistance. Its members are voluntary sailors providing emergency assistance at sea, free of charge. Based in Montevideo, it operates several stations along the ocean coast. It has a modern lifeboat fleet. Since its foundation, ADES has carried out over 1,000 SAR sorties and has saved approximately 1,500 lives.