imo and the safety of fishing vessels: past, present and future

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the Fishing Industry 6 also supports the figures given by the FAO. The paper presents statistics on occupational fatalities and injuries in the fishing industry in selected countries. The ILO's Occupational Safety and Health Branch estimates that fishing has a worldwide fatality rate of 80 per 100,000 workers or approximately 24,000 deaths per year, and estimates that there are 24 million non-fatal accidents in the sector annually. Furthermore, it should also be recognized that in many countries regulatory regimes, Guidelines or standards for small fishing vessels are either non-existent or inappropriate. Currently, there are no international safety standards in place for decked fishing vessels of less than 12 m in length and undecked fishing vessels of any size. In 1998, FAO estimated that the global fishing fleet consisted of about 1.3 million decked vessels and 2.8 million undecked vessels. Of the latter, 65% were not fitted with mechanical propulsion systems. Figures 1 and 2 show the distribution of powered decked and undecked fishing vessels by continent. There is little information available for the undecked/non-motorized vessels but it is estimated that Asia accounts for about 83% of them. The first-hand statistics on fisheries employment are scarce, incomplete and of low quality. According to FAO records, employment in the primary capture fisheries and aquaculture production sectors in 1998 was estimated to have been about 36 million people, including full-time, part-time and occasional workers. About 60% of them are employed in marine fisheries. Figure 3 shows the distribution of fishermen by continent. About two-thirds of these fishermen work onboard fishing vessels of less than 12 m in length, both decked and undecked. Figure 1: Distribution of Decked Fishing Vessels by Continent in 1998. Source: FAO. 6 Safety and Health in the Fishing Industry: Report for discussion at the Tripartite Meeting on Safety and Health in the Fishing Industry, Geneva, 13-17 December 1999. 24
Figure 2: Distribution of Undecked Fishing Vessels by Continent in 1998. Source: FAO. Figure 3: Distribution of Fishermen by Continent in 1998. Source: FAO. Summarizing: most of the fatalities occur on board fishing vessels, but specially small ones, mostly below 12 meters length, which are the vast majority of fishing boats of the world. And again, the great majority of them are in the Asiatic Continent. Every year that elapses seafarers die in the quantity of 24,000, most of them in boats of less than 12 meters in length. The need for an instrument covering this type of boats is of paramount important. 10.1.- Recommendations agreed at regional meetings relating to safety standards for small fishing vessels Several regional meetings that have been held recently on the safety in the fishing industry have made recommendations related to the development of safety standards for small fishing vessels. The following paragraphs provide examples on recommendations that were agreed. The BOBP 7 /FAO Regional Workshop on Sea Safety for Artisanal and Small-scale Fishermen was held in Chennai, India from 8 to 12 October 2001. It was attended by representatives of Fisheries and Maritime Administrations, Coast Guard/ Navy and Fishermen’s Associations, nominated by the Governments of seven countries around the Bay of Bengal. The Chennai Declaration, which was adopted at the end of the workshop, recommended that .fisheries and maritime administrations enhance their knowledge of the operations and constraints of the artisanal and small-scale fisheries sectors in order to formulate effective guidelines, standards and regulations for the safety of fishing vessels, including the certification and training of crews. The FAO/SPC 8 Regional Expert Consultation on Sea Safety in Small Fishing Vessels was held in Suva, Fiji, 9-13 February 2004. It was attended by 30 experts, most of which were from the island states around the Pacific Ocean. The Consultation recommended that improved small boat safety will best be achieved through the development and implementation of co-ordinated national strategies, which should include the development, enactment and implementation of appropriate and sensitive legislation for small fishing vessels, including the carriage of safety equipment, training/certification requirements and construction 7 Bay of Bengal Programme (BOBP) is a multiagency regional fisheries programme which covers seven countries around the Bay of Bengal . Bangladesh; India; Indonesia; Malaysia; Maldives; Sri Lanka; and Thailand. 8 Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) is an international organization that works in partnership with its members, other organizations and donors to deliver priority work programmes to member countries and territories. SPC programmes benefit 22 Pacific Island countries and territories . American Samoa; Cook Islands; Federated States of Micronesia (FSM); Fiji Islands; French Polynesia; Guam; Kiribati; Marshall Islands; Nauru; New Caledonia; Niue; Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI); Palau, Papua New Guinea (PNG); Pitcairn Islands; Samoa; Solomon Islands; Tokelau; Tonga; Tuvalu; Vanuatu; and Wallis and Futuna. The 27 members of the Pacific Community include above island countries and territories, plus the four remaining founding countries: Australia, France, New Zealand and the United States of America. 25
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