Safety and health at sea have always been a top priority for both partner organisations involved in the EU project. This action seeks to propose concrete improvements to the EU fisheries policies that could offer better health, working conditions and safety at sea for fishers. In addition, the project aims at enhancing socially responsible fish sourcing and consumption in the EU market.

The activities of the project will run for the next two years. The Social Partners will meet during the European Maritime days of 2023 (Brest, France) and of 2024 (Svendborg, Denmark) to assess, measure and make progress. The final results will be presented in Brussels in the second half of 2024.

About the EU project

The project, co-funded by the EU, partially implements the work programme of the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for Sea Fishing in order to significantly make progress in various key areas of interest for Social Partners.

Pillar 1: Guidelines for vessel owners on decent recruitment of migrant fishers. The guidelines will be based on EU legislation and other binding international instruments and be used to constitute model contracts between a fisher and a private employment agency, between a fishing vessel owner and a private employment agency, and fisher’s work agreement.

To be developed by international expert on social affairs, Estelle Brendtall.

Pillar 2: Training programme for doctors performing medical examination of fishers. In the previous project, the Social Partners successfully developed guidelines on the medical examination of fishers. As a continuation of this work, it is essential for doctors, who conduct medical examinations and issue medical certificates, to receive training via guidance which fit the specificities of sea fishers.

To be developed by International Maritime Health Association (IMHA).

Pillar 3: Legal analysis on market and custom tools to combat forced labour in the fishing industry. This pillar will explore the possibility for EU to restrict or prohibit seafood imports from fishing vessels or countries identified for child or serious labour abuse including no respect of basic human rights on board fishing vessels.

To be developed by Marinnleg foundation.

Pillar 4: Upgrade of the ‘’Fishery Speak’ app, an interactive glossary, providing an overview of the main phrases used on board a fishing vessel. The aim of this upgrade is therefore to add further languages identified as essential and the necessary uploads and technical updates of the mobile application.

To be developed by IT company, Innatial developers SL.

Press contacts:

Daniel Voces, Europêche Managing Director (+32.2.230.48.48 or daniel.voces@europeche.org)

Andrea Albertazzi, ETF Fisheries Policy Officer (+32.470.93.05.89 or a.albertazzi@etf-europe.org)

EP Press Release – Launch pillars of the sea

After a warm welcome by the Marine Department of the Thai Ministry of Transport and Cadets of the Asian Maritime Technological College, during two full days, specialist from all over the world[1] gathered to tackle one endemic problem in the fishing industry: Safety. 100.000 Fishing-related deaths occur each year[2], the vast majority happening in Asia and Africa, particularly in inland and coastal fisheries. In other words, every 5 minutes, a fisherman or woman passes away. According to Europêche, it is regrettable that international instruments aimed at protecting the life of 35 million people working in the fishing sector have not been widely ratified.

One of the main goals of this conference was to engage with stakeholders in Asia in the work of advocating human and labour rights for fishers and to support the development of pathways to ensure workers’ protection. By way of example, in the Thai fishing industry, on average 60% of fishermen working on their vessels originally come from neighbour countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos. As in the EU, Thailand is dealing with a lack of motivation among the new generation to join the industry. A challenge for Thailand remains the ratification of key conventions for the safety of fishing vessels (Torremolinos Convention) and for training and certification (STCW-F). However, the country was the first in Asia to ratify the ILO Work in Fishing Convention (C188) aimed at protecting the living and working conditions of fishers on board of vessels.

At the conference, Rosalie Tukker, Senior Policy Advisor of Europêche, spoke about the importance of social dialogue and its ability to together with the workers address the gaps in the social dimension of fisheries and lead international effort to improve safety and working conditions, making key stakeholders aware of the human side of the sector, which is often forgotten.

Ms Tukker, declared: “Fishing is significantly safer in Europe, but it remains a global concern particularly in developing countries. For Europêche it is an absolute priority to protect the lives of those working at sea. Fishing stands at the beginning of an international seafood supply chain. Seafood remains one of the most traded commodities in the world and that concerns the EU market. We strive to make sure that fish products are harvested with high standards of safety and due respect to human and labour rights”.

Europêche, under the leadership of the FISH Platform will continue to provide a stage for all who wish to improve fishers’ lives and aims on working more closely in the future with Asian countries towards that goal.

[1] Experts from the UN specialised agency International Labour Organization (ILO), the Japan Agency for Maritime Education and Training for Seafarers, Stella Maris, the UN specialised agency International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Nautical Institute, Novikontas SCM, the Seafarers’ Charity, the Institute for Marine Science and Fishing Technology in Vietnam, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), the International Ocean Institute in Singapore, the Outlaw Ocean Project, and Europêche.

[2] FISH Safety Foundation, Fisher Mortality Brief, November 2022 (Commissioned by The Pew Charitable Trusts) via https://www.pewtrusts.org/-/media/assets/2022/11/fisher-mortality-brief.pdf.

Press contacts:

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

EP Press Release – FISH Platform Conference Thailand

The Council has reached today a political agreement with the European Parliament on a new EMFAF regulation to provide a simplified fund for fishermen with the aim to modernise the fleet, support data collection and efficient control and strengthen international ocean governance. Despite the push from the European Parliament to top up the original budget proposal[1] by 614 million (10% increase), and the Commission’s additional funding proposal of €500 million to help the sector recover from the impact of Covid-19 (8% increase), EU governments decided already in July a cut of € 32 million, resulting in a financial envelop of € 6.108 billion.

Daniel Voces, managing director of Europêche, declared: “Now more than ever the support from the EU is fundamental not only to face external challenges such as the Covid-19 or Brexit but also to implement ambitious policies such as the EU Green Deal. With such a difficult scenario and ambitious policies on the horizon, the sector would have expected a higher budget. We regret that the Council has not followed the proposals from the Parliament nor the Commission to increase the financial envelop to meet the pressing challenges confronting us”.

On a positive note, the new fund moves away from rigid descriptions of financing possibilities and eligible measures, only prescribing conditions on certain fleet subsidies to ensure a level playing field and sustainable investments. Under the new philosophy, operations not explicitly forbidden will be permitted, granting greater legal security to Member States and fishermen.

The new EMFAF will continue financing operations to modernise and improve energy efficiency, health, safety and working conditions for all fleets regardless of the size of the vessel. Only three specific operations will be exclusively granted to vessels below 24 metres. These are: 1. the replacement of engines with the aim to increase energy efficiency and reduce CO₂ emissions; 2. incentivise access to the sector by supporting the first acquisition of vessels by young fishermen; 3. as a novelty, in line with the long-standing call of the sector, operations that require more space on board such as renovating accommodation for the well-being of the crews. Europêche regrets that the call from the Parliament to extend these measures to the whole fleet was finally not taken on board, especially since larger boats are actually subject to binding international legal obligations.  

Europêche welcomes that the new EMFAF may support the temporary cessation of fishing activities for up to 12 months per vessel or per fisherman during the programming period. However, from now on, no compensation will be granted for fishermen in case of non-renewal of a fisheries agreement with a third country. The sector also welcomes the reintroduction of permanent cessation or decommissioning schemes. Thanks to the Parliament, the new fund has included new measures to help fishermen respond to exceptional crises, such as Covid-19, that cause market disruptions such as storage aid and compensations to operators for their income foregone or additional costs.

The industry appreciates the Council’s request for the continuity of the financial support for key actions such as fisheries control and enforcement, including the purchase, installation and management of tracking and electronic systems for all vessels used for control purposes.

Given the Covid-19 situation and the disruption of the markets, Europêche calls on the Commission to facilitate the extension of the current EMFF funding, including the emergency measures adopted last year, allowing its full use until the national operational programmes specifying how governments intend to spend the money are in place.  

The sector appreciates the efforts made by the European Parliament rapporteur Gabriel Mato to fight for a fund that enables the EU fleet to fish better, not to fish more, fully in line with WTO’s mandate to end harmful subsidies.

[1] Commission proposal in 2018 (in current prices): € 6.14 billion. This represented a 5% drop compared with the current EMFF budget (2014-2020) mainly to compensate the upcoming Brexit gap in the EU Budget.

Press contacts:

Rosalie Tukker, Policy Advisor of Europêche: +32.2.230.48.48 rosalie.tukker@europeche.org

EP Press Release – EMFAF Agreement