GSA advises on WiFi at sea

The ILOc188 Work in Fishing Convention (2007) requires that ‘all fishers on board shall be given reasonable access to communication facilities’ which, while open to interpretation, has been taken by two auditors (the Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard and the FISH crew standard) to mean WiFi is required.

GSA has taken advice from a number of areas including Thai Union, Human Rights at Sea, Integrated Monitoring and non-profit organisation, Geeks Without Frontiers, to produce its ‘Exploring current best practice for provision of Wi-Fi to crew on fishing vessels at sea’ report.

The alliance states that there is broad agreement from vessel owners, the private sector and trade unions that crew at sea for more than 24 hours should have access to free WiFi to make personal calls and exchange messages.

“The ability to contact family members as and when they wish, goes a significant way to lessen the frustration of being away from loved ones,” said Mike Park, chief executive of the Scottish Whitefish Producers Association, which operates a crew services company.

Research has previously been conducted into the importance of good connectivity in enabling workers to report grievances, in helping retain and recruit crew and in accessing training, contract, payroll and other services. Seventy per cent of crew surveyed said they would not work on a vessel without WiFi.

The Global Seafood Alliance is now inviting workers to respond to the report by completing a questionnaire by 6 May 2024.