Fishers are a cornerstone of seafood supply and food security in Europe. Still, they haven’t been prioritised in vaccination programs, exposing them to growing infection rates on fishing vessels and preventing the necessary crew changes around the world.

Unlike many other workers, fishers are limited in what they can do to avoid infection in their workplaces. The work of fishing crews takes place in confined spaces, where it is impossible to maintain physical distance and with the high risk of coronavirus transmissibility. Additionally, the often long periods of stay on board ships make it challenging to immunise them on the pre-established schedule for the general population. Europêche and ETF believe that this unique situation requires a special approach to vaccinations and call on Member States to develop new protocols at once.

“The fisheries sector has been recognised as an essential and strategic sector during the pandemic for its vital work in the supply of seafood and food security,” says Ment van der Zwan, Europêche Spokesperson in the European social dialogue. “To protect the supply, we need to protect the workers that support it and guarantee their speedy access to vaccines“.

The social partners have outlined a list of guidelines that can help states establish vaccination protocols for fishers in a way that responds to their specific working environments. They call for prioritisation of fishers in vaccination, coordination of vaccinations through national authorities, and, where possible, provision of single-dose vaccines for workers who remain on board for long periods. They also emphasise the need to establish a right to receive vaccination not only in the flag state but also in their country of residence and in port states.

“This vaccination must be available for all crews operating under European flagged vessels, whatever their nationality,” added Juan Manuel Trujillo Castillo, ETF Fisheries Section Chair. “This is common sense, particularly for the numerous fishing crews working on vessels that operate for weeks without returning to port.”

The social partners’ appeal aligns with the recent call of five UN agencies, encouraging governments to “give priority to fishers, seafarers and aircraft crews in their national vaccination programs.”

ETF and Europêche call on the European Commission to urge EU Member States to support the key workers of the fishing industry during the coronavirus crisis and prioritise their access to the vaccine to keep essential fishing operations running.

Press contacts:

Rosalie Tukker, Policy Advisor of Europêche, rosalie.tukker@europeche.org

Andrea Albertazzi, Fisheries Policy Officer of ETF, a.albertazzi@etf-europe.org

EP and ETF Press Release – Fishers vaccination

The pioneering Mediterranean MAP regulates key demersal fish stocks through a fishing effort regime combined with closure areas. EU legislators also agreed that Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) levels shall be achieved on a progressive basis by 2025 in consideration of the socio-economic impact a faster achievement may have.

The sector recalls that an effective implementation of the MAP requires better understanding the state of demersal stocks, including juveniles and spawners. For that reason, Europêche reminds that before proposing further measures or even considering fishing effort cuts, it is fundamental to assess the effects of the restrictions recently put in place by the Mediterranean MAP.

The sector also alerts on the socio-economic consequences of the second COVID-19 wave. According to Europêche, the pandemic is putting to the test European economies that see once again in many countries the closure of HORECA channels, lack of tourism, extremely low fish prices and health problems. This is causing a major impact in the income of fishermen and it does not seem likely to improve in the short or medium-term, particularly in the Mediterranean.

Under these exceptional circumstances, Europêche calls on the European Commission to be sensitive and as flexible as possible in the implementation of the newly adopted MAP in a way that does not aggravate the socio-economic consequences caused by this pandemic.

Daniel Voces, Managing Director of Europêche, declared: “The sector scrupulously complied with the area closures and the target of reducing fishing effort by 10 % during the first year of implementation of the plan. Certain trawl fleets in Spain even reached reduction levels above 20%. Now, we hear that the European Commission is considering to further cut fishing effort in 2021 for EU trawlers operating in the Western Mediterranean by 15%, disregarding the flexibility to achieve MSY levels by 2025. This would definitely put a final nail in the coffin of many fishermen in the Mediterranean. Our fishermen more than ever need to keep working to overcome the catastrophic socio-economic consequences brought about by this horrible pandemic.”

Press contacts:

Daniel Voces, Managing Director of Europêche: +32 2 230 48 48 daniel.voces@europeche.org

EP Press Release – Mediterranean MAP

Photo by Thomas Millot on Unsplash

Just a couple of weeks ago the European Commission presented its proposal, putting forward the necessary legislative modifications to allow Member States more flexibility to reallocate funds under the EMFF so they could be destined to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus where needed. The Commission also modified EMFF-provisions to allow aid for those fleets forced to stay in the port due to quarantine measures, operational problems or market disruptions. Both the Council and the Parliament, in an unprecedented and rapid manner, not only endorsed the proposal but added further flexibility. These EU institutions included new vessels and fishermen on foot, who are mostly women, as eligible for support in case of temporary cessation as requested by the industry.

Ment van der Zwan, Europêche’s spokesman on social affairs, declared: “We welcome the extraordinary measures quickly adopted by EU authorities. We still urge the European Commission to take further steps to effectively cope with the crisis. These should include the possibility to transfer up to 25% of this year’s unused quota to 2021, measures to compensate the loss of income of fishermen suffering a huge fall in first-sale prices and the injection of extra-funding for countries that have spent most of their available national funding under the EMFF. On top of this, we call on the Commission to launch a seafood promotion campaign in order to boost consumption levels throughout the EU and recognise the hard work and dedication of our fishermen.”

Juan Manuel Trujillo, workers’ spokesman in the EU social dialogue committee on sea-fisheries,  concluded: “The financial package will certainly bring relief and stability to fishermen and their families. As food providers, they need to be identified as essential workers at all levels. In this context, we call on EU institutions to put all efforts to find solutions for the safe repatriation of fishermen who are enduring travel and disembarkation restrictions across the world, allowing for the necessary crew changes. Furthermore, they need priority access to Covid-19 tests and protection means such as masks and gloves.”

The EU Social Partners call upon the Member States to fully implement these extraordinary measures in an effective and balanced manner in order to compensate and relieve both operators and workers to guarantee a future for local fishing communities and the European industry overall.

Press contacts:

Daniel Voces, Managing Director of Europêche: +32 2 230 48 48  daniel.voces@europeche.org

Andrea Albertazzi, ETF Political Secretary: +32 2 28 54 588    a.albertazzi@etf-europe.org

EP and ETF Press Release – COVID 19 EMFF