Safety at Sea – Global level Raymon van Anrooy & Jessica Sanders FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department FAO Subregional Office for the Pacific Islands November 13, 2018/Noumea

Safety at Sea - Global Instruments for Small-scale Fisheries First international instrument dedicated entirely to the small-scale fisheries sector. Result of a long and intensive global bottom-up consultative process between 2011 and 2014. The consultation involved: More than 4 000 participants: representatives of governments, small-scale fishers and fish workers and their organizations, regional organizations, researchers, development partners and other relevant stakeholders. More than 120 countries. The outcomes of this process were discussed at FAO Technical Consultations in May 2013 and February 2014, convening FAO members to review and negotiate the final text. The SSF Guidelines were endorsed by the Thirty-first Session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) in June 2014

The SSF Guidelines and the New Song 9th Heads of Fisheries meeting, welcomed the endorsement of the SSF Guidelines and recognised the high degree of concordance with The New Song encouraged SPC-FAO members to make use of the FAO Technical Cooperation Program window for implementing the SSF and for the implementation of The New Song in an integrated and coordinated manner across the respective FAO and SPC mandates in the region’.  FAO/SPC “meshing paper” – examines coherence and gaps between the two policies

SSF Guidelines: Content Part I: Introduction Objectives Nature and scope Guiding principles Relationship with other international instruments SSF Guidelines: Content Part II: Responsible fisheries and sustainable development Governance of tenure in SSF and resource management Social development, employment and decent work Value chain, post-harvest and trade Gender equality Disaster risks and climate change Part III: Ensuring an enabling environment and supporting implementation Policy coherence, institutional coordination and collaboration Information, research and communication Capacity development Implementation support and monitoring

SSF Guidelines and Safety at Sea Emphasize the importance of safety and occupational health for fishers PART 6 – SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, EMPLOYMENT AND DECENT WORK (6.12) States should address occupational health issues and unfair working conditions of all small-scale fishers and fish workers by: ensuring that the necessary legislation is in place and is implemented in accordance with national legislation and international human rights standards and international instruments …such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and relevant conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO). All parties should strive to ensure that occupational health and safety is an integral part of fisheries management and development initiatives.

SSF Guidelines and Safety at Sea Emphasize the importance of safety and occupational health for fishers (6.16) All parties should recognize the complexity that surrounds safety-at-sea issues (in inland and marine fisheries) and the multiple causes behind deficient safety. This applies to all fishing activities. States should ensure the development, enactment and implementation of appropriate national laws and regulations that are consistent with international guidelines of FAO, the ILO and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for work in fishing and sea safety in small-scale fisheries.

SSF Guidelines and Safety at Sea Emphasize the importance of safety and occupational health for fishers (6.17) States should recognize that improved sea safety, which includes occupational health and safety, in small-scale fisheries (inland and marine) will best be achieved through the development and implementation of coherent and integrated national strategies, with the active participation of the fishers themselves and with elements of regional coordination, as appropriate. In addition, safety at sea of small scale fishers should also be integrated into the general management of fisheries. States should provide support to, …, maintenance of national accident reporting, provision of sea safety awareness programmes and introduction of appropriate legislation for sea safety in small-scale fisheries. The role of existing institutions and community-based structures for increasing compliance, data collection, training and awareness, and search and rescue operations should be recognized in this process. States should promote access to information and to emergency location systems for rescue at sea for small-scale vessels.

FAO activities relating to the safety at sea in the fisheries sector

FAO’s activities on Safety at Sea Maintenance of a dedicated website on safety at sea – for sharing information from FAO and partners http://www.fao.org/fishery/safety-for- fishermen/en/

FAO’s activities on Safety at Sea Support the International Fishing Industry Safety & Health Conferences (iFish) iFISH5 was held in Canada in May 2018

FAO’s activities on Safety at Sea 3. Development of practical guidelines and manuals for safety at sea for small-scale fishers Franciso Blaha Franciso Blaha

FAO’s activities on Safety at Sea 4. Collaboration with International Maritime Organization (IMO) and International Labour Organization (ILO) on safety recommendations for vessels and fishers

FAO’s activities on Safety at Sea 5. Collaboration in the field to increase safety at sea in the Pacific Disaster Preparedness – community awareness and training, safety grab bags Disaster recovery – ensure safety is included in recovery activities (food security clusters) Working together with the Food Security Clusters, national authorities and SPC

FAO’s activities on Safety at Sea 5. Collaboration in the field to increase safety at sea (Caribbean) Mfisheries App Climate change adaptation in the Eastern Caribbean Fisheries Sector project (CC4Fish) –FAO-GEF collaboration Working together with the Caribbean Network of Fisherfolk Organizations (CNFO) and the University of the West Indies.

Committee on Fisheries (COFI) 33rd session, Rome, July 2018 Safety at sea importance was highlighted by: Panama, EU, USA, Iceland, New Zealand, India. Also ILO, OSPESCA, PEW and BOBP- IGO made references to the subject. Many members informed the Committee on the status of the ratification process of the ILO Work in Fishing Convention 188, the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel (STCW-F) and the IMO Cape Town Agreement on the implementation of the provisions of the provisions of the Torremolinos Protocol relating to the International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels, and encouraged other members to ratify these international instruments that contribute to a healthy,  safe and fair working environment in the fisheries sector.

Committee on Fisheries (COFI) 33rd session, Rome, July 2018 (Para. 20) The Committee highlighted the importance of safety at sea and working conditions in the fisheries sector and welcomed the close cooperation between FAO and the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Members requested FAO to further strengthen international cooperation on occupational health and safety issues in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors and to promote decent work for fish workers. (Para 58) Recognizing the links between IUU fishing, safety at sea and poor working conditions in parts of the fisheries sector, the Committee commended the ongoing cooperation between IMO, ILO, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and FAO on IUU fishing and related matters, and encouraged further joint initiatives.

Concluding remarks Fishing is the world’s most dangerous occupation with more than 32,000 fatalities every year Enhancing health and safety in the fishing industry is one of the main challenges International instruments need to be implemented and enforced and this is mainly the responsibility of Governments FAO can facilitate capacity building, development of materials and technical assistance on this subject (upon request of governments) SPC –FAO collaboration will continue to be an avenue of support and can also be further strengthened on safety at sea matters

Thank you Photo by F. Blaha Franciso Blaha Franciso Blaha