Seven seafood industry and seven non-government organisations have declared their support of a call made by The Pew Charitable Trusts to the member states of the Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations to support the development of a mechanism that can establish a data collection scheme and repository on global fisher accident and mortality rates.
The 35th Session of the UN’s Committee on Fisheries (COFI) (5-9 September 2022) has highlighted that new research soon to be published by the Pew Charitable Trust, Lloyds Register Foundation, IMO, FISH Safety Foundation (FSF) and FAO, with contributions from many FAO Members, suggests that the number of fatalities within the fishing sector is likely much greater than 100,000 annually.
Previous research by the ILO in 1999 and subsequently by FAO estimated that annual fisher deaths were in the region of 24,000 and 32,000 respectively, or between 65 and 87 deaths per day.
According to Pew, drivers for this very high mortality rate include climate change and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities, which push fishing vessels into unsafe waters, as well as insufficient oversight of vessel construction and operations.
The NGO therefore insists it is “critically important” to urgently improve data collection, and analysis of accidents and loss of life in the fishing industry.
This, it said, will help parties to understand the drivers behind these “unacceptably high fatality rates” and ensure that safety initiatives are developed and implemented based on robust data.
Its call for improved fisher safety reporting has been supported by tuna processors Bolton Group, BumbleBee and Tri-Marine as well as by the seafood industry groups Fedepesca, SEA Alliance, Hong Kong Sustainable Seafood Coalition and the Fishing Industry Association (FIA).
These parties also stressed their commitment to ensuring that the seafood they buy and sell is sourced from responsible producers that have not engaged in activities that expose fishers to unsafe and harmful working conditions.
In addition, some of these organisations are already advocating for the ratification and effective implementation of the following key international agreements that will improve fisher safety and welfare: the IMO Cape Town Agreement, the ILO Work in Fishing Convention, the FAO Port State Measures Agreement, and the International Convention on Training, Certification and for Fishing Vessels Personnel.
Underling Bolton’s determination to improve fisher safety and welfare, Sustainability Manager – Advocacy, Policy & Compliance Héctor Fernández said, “We believe it is a crucial first step to call on FAO members to urgently improve data collection and analysis of accidents and loss of life on board fishing vessels globally.”
Fishing Industry Association Papua New Guinea CSR & Sustainability Director Marcelo Hidalgo commented, “For decades the scientific community, NGOs, governments, and global stakeholders have focused their efforts and care on tuna stocks and their health status. It is time to recognise the importance of the human factor in fisheries and that fisheries cannot exist without people.”
In 2019, as a private sector initiative, the PNG tuna fleet increased the assessment and improvement of the decent working and living onboard fishing vessels aligned with ILOc188 and FISH Standard for Crew.
“It is time that FAO and regulators such as RFMO also request this to global fisheries,” Hidalgo said.
Amber Madley, Head of Social Responsibility for New England Seafood, and advocacy lead for the SEA Alliance added, “Fishers around the world play a critical role in supporting food security, livelihoods, and sustainable fisheries management. Ensuring that they can carry out their work safely should be a priority for every business involved in the seafood supply chain. We strongly support the creation of a mechanism to improve information on accidents and fatalities at a global level, so that we can improve visibility and understanding of the risks fishers face, and make sure resources are targeted effectively
