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7. Summary and points for discussion

Summary

Overview of the world fishing industry

Much of the fishing industry has undergone considerable change in the last few decades. This is due not only to technological advances but also to changes in the control and management of fishing resources. Overcapacity in some fisheries has resulted in increased social and economic pressure from environmental groups, regulators and other fisheries. Many fishing companies and fishermen have had to change how, where and when they fish.

Despite changes in technology, resource allocation and other areas, many fishermen continue under traditional employment arrangements. Most still earn their pay primarily from a share of the catch. So while there is strong pressure to conserve fisheries resources, most fishermen still have an incentive to catch as many fish (or other marine resources) as quickly as possible. Increased demand by consumers for fresh, high-quality products has led to changes in fishing operations which have affected the rhythm of work.

While many fishermen have experienced improvements in their living and working conditions, many others still serve on vessels where conditions remain poor. This is often related to the poor economic status of many fishing communities. Unfortunately, a significant number of fishermen suffer substandard conditions, and violations of basic human rights are not infrequent.

Fishermen's organizations and trade unions are working to improve living and working conditions through collective bargaining, participation in fisheries management discussions and other means of action. There appears to be growing cooperation between trade unions and other types of fishermen's organizations in areas of mutual interest.

Safety and health in the fishing industry

Fishing is clearly a dangerous profession. In many countries it has the highest fatality rate of any occupation. While vessel casualties are an important cause of death, there are also other major causes of death or injury. Fishermen also suffer from a number of work-related injuries and diseases.

Several studies have indicated that fatigue is a serious safety and health issue. Fatigue appears to be linked to the nature of fishing operations and to employment arrangements which create an incentive to work long hours and to minimize the number of crew members.

Lack of awareness of certain risks may also be an important concern for some groups of fishermen. Most fishermen are well aware that fishing is a hazardous profession, but they may not be receiving timely and clear information on the link between certain acts or omissions and resultant deaths, injuries and illnesses. For some, a tendency to deny or downplay risks may also serve to filter out important safety messages and reduce the impact of safety initiatives.

Under-reporting of fatalities, injuries and diseases appears to be a problem in the fishing industry. Even when these are reported, the many different approaches to collecting information on their types and causes may make it difficult to produce comparable data and statistics and thus make it difficult to identify and then address key issues. The nature of the employment arrangement in fishing, which may place many fishermen outside traditional occupational accident and disease reporting systems, also contributes to this lack of information.

Insurance should play an important role in improving safety and health in the fishing industry. However, it is not clear whether all forms of insurance adequately reward fishing vessel owners for having good safety and health records or for putting in place or improving accident prevention measures. The lack of insurance coverage for many fishermen is a serious problem.The nature of fishing operations places fisherrnen far from irnmediate, professional medical care. Important issues include ensuring adequate and regular medical fitness examinations, first aid and other rnedical training for the crew; the carriage of adequate medical equiprnent and clear instructions on how to use it; access to shoreside advice by radio or satellite cornmunications and means for the medical evacuation of seriously injured or ill fishermen. Despite improvements in medical care for many fishermen, there are some who are not receiving sufficient care.

The nature of fishing operations places fishermen far from immediate, professional medical care. Important issues include ensuring adequate and regular medical firness examinations, first aid and other medical training for the crew; the carriege of adequate medical equipment and clear instructions on how to use it; access to shoreside advice by radio or satellite communications and means for the medical evacuation of seriously injured or ill fishermen. Despite improvements in medical care for many fishermen, there are some who are not receiving sufficient care.

While most fisheries and fishing operations have cornrnon features, there are also many differences. The same applies to safety and health issues, which may vary depending on the type of fishing, the size of the vessels and their equipment, the geographical area of operation and other factors.

National efforts to address safety
and health issues

While the information included in this report is not based on data from all ILO member States, it appears that there are great differences in the scope and content of national laws and regulations concerning safety and health in the fishing industry. There are generally less safety and health requirements covering fisherrnen working on smaller vessels. The informal nature of rnany parts of the fishing industry, and the co-adventurer status of fishermen related to their pay arrangernents, may also affect the degree to which they are protected by laws and regulations concerning other workers. In some countries the industry, or at least portions of it, has developed a self-regulatory approach, partly out of concern over possible governrnent regulation. It appears that there may be a slowly growing trend towards placing some larger fishing vessels in Zopen" registers, sorne of which have had historically high casualty and port state control detention rates for merchant ships. This may in part be done to avoid safety and other regulations.

The safety and health of fishermen can involve a wide range of national and regional ministries and agencies. In some countries fishing safety, especially as it relates to vessel safety, is primarily the responsibility of the ministry or agency responsible for marine safety; in others it is the rninistry or agency responsible for agriculture and/or fisheries which has the lead role. Occupational safety and health agencies have an important part to play. While in some cases there appears to be regular coordination among these rninistries and agencies, this does not always happen.

The degree to which fishing vessel owners, representatives of fishermen and other interested and relevant parties are consulted on fishermen's safety and health issues, and the method of consultation, rnay vary. Some national and regional bodies involve not only the social partners but also non-governrnental organizations, insurers, designers, builders, equipment rnanufacturers, fishermen's wives and families, training and research institutions and others. However, it does not appear that such broad consultation is universal.

Research and training institutions in several countries are carrying out substantial research on safety and health in the fishing industry. It is unclear whether, and if so, how this inforrnation is being regularly and efficiently exchanged among these institutions. There appears to be a substantial amount of high-quality training and awareness rnaterial (pamphlets, books, videos, etc.) produced in some countries which might be easily rnodified for use in other countries.

Some countries have extensive training and certification schemes for fishermen, often reflecting the provisions of the ILO's Fishermen's Cornpetency Certificates Convention, 1966 (No. 125), and Vocational Training (Fishermen) Recommendation, 1966 (No. 126), and more recently those of the IMO's International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel, 1995 (STCW-F), as well as the 1985 FAO/ILO/IMO Document for Guidance on Fishermen's Training and Certification. However, the focus of many training programrnes appears to be on skippers and senior officers. Training prograrnrnes for crew members and for small-scale or artisanal fishermen seem to be limited, though some countries have established impressive apprenticeship programmes.

It appears that a good portion of the world's fishing vessels may not be regularly inspected, particularly not for occupational safety and health aspects. This may be related to limitations on resources and, in certain cases, to resistance from some fishermen due to cost and other concerns. Some innovative schemes have been developed both to reduce the cost and subsidize the purchase of safety equipment.

Artisanal and small-scale fishermen have, as groups, received comparatively little attention with regard to safety and health. This may be due to the remoteness of their communities, their lack of political and economic power to improve their situation, a lack of government resources and other reasons.

Some countries seem to require some form of medical examination and medical certificate⁽¹⁾ for certain groups of fishermen. Medical examinations and certificates appear not to be required for small-scale and artisanal vessels. ' The extent of the provision of medical care to this latter group of fishermen—as well as to their families—requires further consideration. This issue may be an economic as well as a "fishermen's health" issue, as the availability and cost of health care to the families of fishermen affects the viability of fishing employment and the viability of fishing communities.

The Office has found limited information on efforts at the national level to reduce fatigue in the fishing industry.

Regional efforts to improve safety and
health in the fishing industry

In some regions efforts have been made to improve the safety and health of fishermen. In Europe, several Council directives have regulated—or are likely to regulate in the near future —such areas as vessel construction and equipment, minimum conditions for safety and health and medical treatment for European vessels. The work is obviously also affecting safety and health at the national level. There has been regional cooperation in the production, translation and distribution of training and other safety and health information. A recent initiative by a European trade union, in cooperation with fishing vessel owners, government officials, insurers and others, demonstrates the possibilities for regional social dialogue on safety and health issues.

International measures to improve safety and
health in the fishing industry

While there are several international standards related to safety and health in fishing, it appears that the benefits of these standards may not be reaching the majority of the world's fishermen. This is because these standards have not been widely ratified and, even if ratified, may not have entered into force. These standards also may not fully address the needs of small-scale and artisanal fishermen. This is, however, partly due to the inability to reach international agreement on safety standards for small-scale and artisanal vessels.

Codes, guidelines and other publications produced by the FAO, ILO and IMO—often jointly—may be contributing to the improvement of satety and health in the fishing industry. In some countries, the content of these publications is reflected in national regulations and practices. However, most are nearly two decades old and may require updating. The IMO has initiated work to revise some of these publications, and this may present an opportunity to make substantial improvements. It may also permit the inclusion of additional information relevant to the safety and health of small-scale and artisanal fishermen.

Other ILO Conventions and Recommendations covering safety and health for all workers could be relevant to the fishing industry. However, the full benefits of these standards may not be reaching fishermen for some of the reasons described above.⁽²⁾ The ILO, together with the FAO and IMO, may also be able to provide, through its existing tools (the CIS system, hazard datasheets, publications, etc.), and with substantial input from research and training institutions, an efficient means of improving the international exchange of information on safety and health in the fishing industry. Given the FAO's strong contacts with agriculture and fisheries ministries and agencies, the IMO's with maritime administrations and the ILO's with labour ministries, occupational safety and health administrations and employers' and workers' organizations, a coordinated effort, replicated at the national level, might have a considerable impact on raising awareness of fishing safety and health issues and facilitating responses to those issues.

The collection of international data on accidents, injuries and diseases in the fishing industry has been hampered by different methods of collecting and reporting data, including the way in which these data are compiled at the national level and reported at the international level. If the production of useful international statistics on accidents, injuries and diseases—and fatalities— is considered important, action may be required at the national level (e.g. by adopting a classification scheme which is convertible to ISIC Revision 3). Coordination between regional databases (e.g. the database under consideration in Europe) and international databases (e.g. ILO and IMO) seems an important issue.

ILO standards and the fishing industry

The ILO has not adopted any standards specifically concerning fishermen since 1966. In view of the forthcoming examination of these instruments by the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards, the views of the Tripartite Meeting are solicited as regards the recommended course of action to take with respect to the existing standards. Some of these may not be considered to be in need of revision; others may be considered to be up to date and their ratification should be promoted; still others may be considered obsolete. Finally, in certain cases additional information on their status should be requested from the member States.

While some maritime labour standards include provisions concerning their possible application to commercial maritime fishing, it would appear that—due to low ratification rates and other reasons—the protection provided in the Conventions is not reaching fishermen. The Tripartite Meeting also has the opportunity to provide its views on the application of certain maritime labour standards to fishing.

Cross-cutting issues

In this report, the Office has attempted to describe some of the major safety and health problems in the fishing industry (or sector), to provide a sample of related laws, regulations and activities at the national, regional and international levels, and to tie into this a brief examination of ILO standards concerning fishermen, as well as maritime labour standards which may be applied to commercial maritime fishing under certain conditions, in order to provide the Tripartite Meeting with a basis for its discussions. While there are certain steps which might be taken by the ILO, FAO and IMO to address safety and health, and other issues, in the fishing industry, the greatest share of such work must be done by others. The real key to improving the safety and health of fishermen on a global basis will be to determine what should be done at the international, regional, national and local levels, and who should take that action. This requires achieving, at each level, an appropriate blend of harmonization and flexibility in laws and regulations in order to make real gains in safety and health without sacrificing innovation and the important to develop, or facilitate the development of, the means for the continual exchange of information and, where appropriate, assistance, among all concerned parties. Careful consideration should be given not only to what the ILO can do but also to what others can do to build relationships—to enhance social dialogue—leading to improvements in safety and health in the fishing industry.

Finally, the issue of improving safety and health in the fishing industry cannot be separated from other aspects of fishermen's living and working conditions.

Suggested points for discussion

In the light of the foregoing treatment of the issues, the following points are offered as a basis for the Meeting's discussion.

1. What are the priority areas to be addressed in order to improve occupational safety and health in fishing?
2. What should be the roles of legal and regulatory measures, negociated measures, voluntary programmes and other measures in ensuring occupational safety and health for fishermen?
3. What steps should be taken to promote the enforcement or application of existing laws, regulations and recognized good practices designed to protect fishermen?
4. What can be done to improve coordination by all ministries, departments, agencies with a role, or potential role, in improving the occupational safety and health of fishermen? What role should be played by labour ministries (including for example, labour inspection services and occupational safety and health agencies), and how should these services be more effective?
5. How can governments, employers' and workers' organizations and other interested groups assist in training fishermen in occupational safety and health and in gaining access to the measures (including financial resources) to improve their occupational safety and health?
6. How should safety and health issues for small-scale and artisanal fishermen be addressed? What role should the different stakeholders have in such efforts?
7. What actions should be taken to address safety, health and related issues for other vulnerable groups of fishermen (including children working in the fishing sector)?
8. How can more reliable data on the incidence and severity of accidents and disease in fishing be collected and appropriate action for prevention and treatment be developed?
9. What action should be taken by the ILO—on its own or jointly with other organizations— as concerns:

1. finalization of the revision of the FAO/ILO/IIdO Document for Guidance on Fishermen's Training and Certification;
2. revision of other relevant codes, guidelines and publications jointly prepared by the ILO, FAO, IMO and WHO;
3. development or improvement of new codes, guidelines, datasheets, databases and other tools aimed at improving safety and health (including improving the worldwide exchange of information on safety and health) in the fishing industry;
4. promotion of social dialogue between governments, fishing vessels owners and fishermen's organizations - at a local, national, regional and international levels - concerning safety and health in the fishing industry?

10. What actions are proposed as regards ILO international labour standards specifically concerning fishermen or relevant to fishermen?

1. With respect to the existing instruments concerning fishermen, which ones should be proposed for (a) revision, (b) promotion or ratification (or, in the case of Recommendations, be given due effect), or (c) should any of them be considered obsolete? If the information available seems insufficient to propose a course of action with respect to any of these instruments, should member States be invited to provide additional information?
2. Which of the other Conventions and Recommendations adopted specifically for seafarers should be applied to fishing through the (a) adoption of an appropriate protocol, and/or (b) the adoption of new standards?
3. What other issues should be addressed by new standards?

11. In order of priority, what measures should the ILO take to assist its constituents in addressing safety and health issues in fishing?

¹The Medical Examination (Fishermen) Convention, 1959 (No. 113), allows for exemptions in respect of vessels which do not normally remain at sea for periods of more than three days.

²Furthermore, none of the four ILO Conventions specifically concerning fishermen includes a "port state control" provision, as contained in some of the more recent IMO fishing-related Conventions, though some States may be inspecting, for example, accommodation under existing national laws and regulations. As concerns seafarers, the ILO has a "port state control" provision in its Merchant Shipping (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 147).

This page was created by RP/CP. Updated by AN/BR. It was approved by BW/OdVR. It was last updated , 13 February 2002.

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