Addressing the issues of IUU fishing and unacceptable working conditions for fishers can lead to fisheries that are economically, environmentally and socially sustainable

Wagner, Brandt

Aquatic Commons

4SAMUDRA RepoRt No. 77
The Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (No. 188) will enter into force in November 2017 for 
the first ten States which have 
ratified it and will enter into force 
for other States one year after 
they submit their instruments of 
ratification to the International 
Labour Organization (ILO). 
The objective of the Convention 
is to ensure that fishers have decent 
conditions of work on board fishing 
vessels with regard to minimum 
requirements for work on board; 
conditions of service; accommodation 
and food; occupational safety and 
health protection; and medical care 
and social security. 
As provided in the Constitution 
of the ILO, States that have ratified 
the Convention are to report to the 
ILO on the measures they have taken 
to give effect to the provisions of 
Conventions to which they are parties, 
and the first ten are to submit these 
reports by November 2018. 
Through its supervisory system, 
the ILO will then examine the 
application by States of Convention 
No. 188 and point out areas where 
it could be better applied. Those 
States for which the Convention is 
in force will also be in a position 
to enforce the requirements of 
the Convention on foreign fishing 
vessels visiting their ports (port 
State control), which will increase 
its impact. 
Convention No. 188 and IUU fishing
Convention No. 188 enters into force 
at a time when the relationship 
between unacceptable forms of work 
at sea and other concerns, such as 
illegal, unreported and unregulated 
(IUU) fishing and fisheries crime is 
coming under increasing recognition 
and attention. 
The Sustainable Development 
Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for 
Sustainable Development, adopted 
in September 2015, include, among 
other things, SDG 8: Promote inclusive 
and sustainable economic growth, 
employment and decent work for all 
and SDG 14: Conserve and sustainably 
use the oceans, seas and marine 
resources. During the United 
Nations Conference to Support 
the Implementation of Sustainable 
Development Goal 14: Conserve and 
sustainably use the oceans, seas and 
marine resources for Sustainable 
Development, in the discussion of 
Partnership Dialogue 4: Making 
Fisheries Sustainable, the ILO 
representative, among other things, 
called for ministries responsible for 
labour, fisheries, maritime safety and 
other issues to work together with 
representatives of both fishing vessel 
owners and fishers, as this would 
stimulate innovative thinking, and 
build links between SDG 14, SDG 8 
and other SDGs, and thus truly lead to 
sustainable fisheries.
Social costs
IUU fishing poses a threat to that 
sustainability, and addressing it is 
well-reflected in the targets and 
indicators for achieving SDG 14. Often 
understated, however, are the social 
costs and the decent-work deficits 
that can also arise from IUU fishing 
operations. IUU fishing may impact 
C188
Analysis
Truly Sustainable
Addressing the issues of IUU fishing and unacceptable working conditions for fishers  
can lead to fisheries that are economically, environmentally and socially sustainable
This article is by Brandt Wagner  
(wagner@ilo.org), Head, Transport and 
Maritime Unit, Sectoral Policies Department, 
ILO, and William Kemp (kemp@ilo.org), 
Junior Technical Officer, Transport and 
Maritime Unit, Sectoral Policies Department, 
ILO
 ... the ILO representative, among other things, 
called for ministries responsible for labour, fisheries, 
maritime safety and other issues to work together 
with representatives of both fishing vessel owners and 
fishers...
SepteMbeR 2017
5
C 1 8 8
adversely upon local and small-scale 
fishing communities, and can threaten 
food security, generate poverty and 
harm livelihoods. Studies and articles 
(see SAMUDRA Report, Issue No. 66, 
December 2013) have linked IUU 
fishing operations to substandard 
working and living conditions on 
board, exploitation of migrant fishers, 
unacceptable forms of work such as 
forced labour and human trafficking. 
IUU fishing vessels tend to evade legal 
authorities, and this means that such 
matters as lack of safety equipment, 
poor hygiene standards and inadequate 
food and accommodation provisions 
on board may also go unchecked. It 
has also been argued by some that 
fishing vessel activities which violate 
workers’ legal rights should be 
considered illegal fishing. Government 
resources to inspect fishing vessels 
are often limited, and co-ordination 
among ministries, agencies and 
administrations with responsibilities 
for fisheries management, maritime 
safety and social (labour) conditions, 
and other matters, is important to 
ensure efficient and effective control 
by States of fishing vessels, a duty set 
out for States in the United Nations 
Convention on the Law of the Sea 
(UNCLOS). On a positive note, the 
Third Session of the Joint FAO/IMO 
Ad Hoc Working Group on Illegal, 
Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) 
Fishing and Related Matters called 
for the Food and Agriculture 
Organization of the United 
Nations (FAO), the International 
Maritime Organization (IMO) 
and the ILO, together with States, 
intergovernmental and non-
governmental organizations (IGOs 
and NGOs) to explore strategies and 
consider the organization of joint 
capacity-development programmes, 
for enhanced implementation of 
international instruments to combat 
IUU fishing, in particular, the 2009 
FAO Port State Measures Agreement 
(PSMA), considering the roles 
of all international and regional 
organizations concerned. ILO 
Convention No. 188 calls for a system 
of flag-State inspection and also 
provides for port-State control of 
foreign vessels visiting the ports 
of States for which the Convention 
is in force. In order to help States 
implement the Convention, the ILO 
adopted Guidelines for port-State 
control officers carrying out inspections 
under the Work in Fishing Convention, 
2007 (No. 188) in 2010, and Guidelines 
on flag-State inspection of working 
and living conditions on board 
fishing vessels in 2015. These provide 
information on how to establish 
or improve the national system for 
inspection of fishing vessels, with 
specific guidance on how to conduct 
inspections on board. They encourage 
co-ordinated efforts among all 
authorities and clear communication 
with those concerned, in particular, 
fishing vessel owners and fishers. 
Inspections must be undertaken 
in accordance with appropriate and 
clear laws and regulations. The ILO 
has, therefore, been assisting States 
to establish or improve national laws 
to ensure they cover the issues 
addressed in ILO Conventions, in 
particular, Convention No. 188. As 
reported in an earlier SAMUDRA Report 
article, this includes assisting States 
to undertake comparative analyses 
of their national legislation and the 
Convention. Such a ‘gap analysis’ 
can identify holes in the protection of 
fishers and lead to the filling of 
those holes. It can also help promote 
social dialogue between government 
authorities and representative 
ILo / MAILLARD J.
Fishing craft maintenance work at Argentina. A ‘gap analysis’ can identify  
holes in the protection of fishers and lead to the filling of those holes
6SAMUDRA RepoRt No. 77
A N A Ly S I S
organizations of fishers and fishing 
vessel owners, who, in accordance 
with the Convention, must be 
consulted on many provisions of the 
Convention during the development 
of implementing laws, regulations 
or other measures. A gap analysis, 
and the resulting national discussion, 
hopefully, leads to ratification and 
implementation of Convention 
No. 188, but even if this does not 
happen immediately, it usually leads 
to a better understanding of what 
protection exists for fishers, and 
provides a basis for action and at least 
some important changes to laws.
The ILO also has several projects 
underway to promote decent work 
for fishers in Southeast Asia. At the 
national level, in Thailand, the Ship 
to Shore Rights Project, supported by 
the European Union, aims to prevent 
and reduce unacceptable forms of 
work in the Thai fishing and seafood 
industries. This project works with the 
Thai government to strengthen the 
legal framework for work in fishing to 
meet international standards, build 
capacity for government officers to 
enforce legal protection for fishers, 
and revise workplace standards 
for processing plants, aquaculture 
and vessels. The project works in 
co-operation with several partners in 
Thailand, including the Command 
Centre to Combat Illegal Fishing 
(CCCIF). At a regional level, the SEA 
Fisheries Project (Strengthened 
Co-ordination to Combat Trafficking 
in Fisheries in Southeast Asia), 
supported by the United States, aims 
to reduce trafficking in Southeast 
Asia by improving co-ordination and 
effectiveness of actions at the national 
and regional levels. The links between 
IUU fishing and labour issues appear 
to be relevant to the discussion of 
the problems faced by fishers flying 
the flag of States in which the fishers 
are neither national nor permanent 
residents, often referred to as ‘migrant 
fishers’. Migrant fishers are generally 
more vulnerable than other fishers 
to being coerced, or forced, into 
illegal activities, or even being, in 
some cases, unknowingly involved in 
illegal fishing. The ILO recently held a 
Tripartite Meeting on Issues relating 
to Migrant Fishers (September 2017) 
to discuss issues relating to such 
fishers. The tripartite meeting (with 
representatives of governments, and 
fishing vessel owner organizations and 
fishers’ representative organizations, 
and others) explored issues central 
to the discussion of decent work for 
all fishers. Such matters as vessel 
safety, fisheries crime and, IUU fishing 
were raised in the discussion paper 
prepared by the ILO secretariat. The 
conclusions of the meeting, which will 
shortly be posted on the ILO website 
along with a resolution that was also 
adopted, make recommendations 
for future action to prevent serious 
abuses of migrant fishers, which 
include forced labour and trafficking. 
These conclusions advised the ILO 
to consider participation as a full 
member of the FAO/IMO Ad Hoc 
Joint Working Group on Illegal, 
Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) 
fishing, and highlighted the link 
between the protection of fishers, 
sustainable livelihoods, food security 
and the achievement of the SDGs. 
Though not all IUU fishing may 
involve labour abuses, and there 
may be serious abuses, or at least 
poor living and working conditions, 
on vessels not involved in IUU, there 
does appear to be a growing 
understanding that IUU fishing and 
unacceptable working conditions 
for fishers feed on each other, and 
that addressing both these issues, 
preferably through co-ordinated 
action, can, and will, lead to 
sustainable fisheries in the widest 
sense, that is, fisheries that are 
economically, environmentally and 
socially sustainable.                                  
www.ilo.org/fishing
Fisheries
http://www.ilo.org/sector/activities/
sectoral-meetings/WCMS_552792/lang--
en/index.htm
Tripartite Meeting on issues 
relating to Migrant Fishers
https://www.icsf.net/en/samudra/article/
EN/66-3936-Decent-Work,-De.html
Decent Work, Decent Fishing
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Analysis C188: truly sustainable

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Analysis C188: truly sustainable

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