Context

Ocean fishing is of considerable importance to the Pacific region for both the revenues it brings and the employment opportunities it creates. The Pacific covers a vast area of ocean and while it encounters the geographic disadvantages faced by small, isolated communities with few land-based resources, the size and productivity of the region’s exclusive economic zones make the harvesting of fish by foreign fishing vessels a critical factor in the nation’s economic development. To give an example - the contribution of fishing to the Kiribati’s government revenues (from licence arrangements and access agreements) amounted to approximately 29% of Gross National Income and nearly half of its Gross Domestic Product in 2013. Many other countries in the Pacific also derive important economic benefits through licensing fees. In 2010 it was estimated that there were nearly 6000 jobs for non-flag state crew, however the number of Pacific Islanders working in these jobs was estimated to be only a small proportion, despite the fact that many Pacific Island countries face acute and growing issues of unemployment.

In October 2009 the Fisheries Ministers of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) agreed to the Bikenibeu Declaration which included promoting the concept of requiring vessels operating in the region to have PNA nationals as crew. At a meeting of PNA Ministers in November 2010 it was decided that all purse seine vessels operating in PNA waters must have at least 10% minimum PNA crews employed as part of their total crewing complement from 1 January 2012. Following further discussions, it was agreed in November 2014 that mandatory crewing would become effective in 2016 through the application of a progressively increasing waiver fee to vessels that do not have the required crew level.

However, with an increasing number of Pacific Islanders employed of fishing vessels, there is also a concern that, without a strong institutional and legislative framework, and effective training regime to prepare and support fishers, they could be vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.

The ILO Convention on Work in Fishing (C188) was adopted in 2007 with overwhelming support from governments, workers’ and employers’ organizations around the world. It covers a broad range of issues particular to the fishing industry, including minimum age for work, minimum standards for work agreements, rest periods, standards for living conditions and food on board, occupational safety and health and basic medical care. Pacific Island countries, whether they have flagged fishing vessels or not, have an important obligation to ensure that workers on fishing vessels are fairly recruited, properly trained and well supported, to make a decent living through which they can  support themselves and their families.
 

Objectives

• Bring together officials from labour and fisheries ministries and agencies to discuss ILO instruments and work in the fishing sector with the aim of enhancing future collaboration at the national level on issue related to improving conditions of work on fishing vessels.
• Support government officials from labour ministries and fisheries ministries to prepare them to undertake, upon returning to their home countries, national tripartite discussions on training and supporting workers on fishing vessels including through skills development programmes, institutional capacity strengthening and inter-agency collaboration;
• Discuss the main principles and provisions of C188 and discuss ways in which these principles could be given effect through conducting gap analyses, revising domestic legislation, and improving monitoring and enforcement;
• Assist government officials to discuss other, complementary approaches, to improving living and working conditions on fishing vessels.

Expected outputs

• Increased awareness by government officials from labour and fisheries ministries and agencies of the principles of protecting fishers (C188) and practical steps that can be taken by Pacific Island countries to achieve this.
• Information sharing of other regional initiatives including in ASEAN countries.
• Identification of measures for national level capacity building, and bilateral and regional cooperation on the protection of fishers.

Meeting organizers

• ILO (CO-Suva, with support from SECTOR) and FFA.