By Mamadou Edrisa Njie
The Ministerial Conference on Fisheries Cooperation Among African States Bordering the Atlantic Ocean, acronym ATLAFCO, is to lead training seminar on health and safety standards for persons employed in fishing operations, from 3rd – 4th October, 2019 in Tangier, Morocco.
The seminar dubbed: ”For access to decent and secure jobs in fisheries in West Africa’‘ will be a platform to gather stakeholders in the fisheries sector which include a regional Network of Journalists and Communicators reporting on Fisheries, in short- MOSFA .
For the Tangier Seminar, four MOSFA members will be in attendance namely; Andre Naoussi, Coordinator of MOSFA, Estelle Diane BENGA AMVANE from Gabon- Matin Equatorial Newspaper, Mamadou Edrisa Njie, The Gambia- Publisher and Managing Editor of Mansa Banko Online, and Leonce Aissoun, who is designated to represent the Ministry of Fisheries of the Republic of Benin.
According an invitation made available to Mansa Banko, the issue of safety and social protection of seafarers does not seem to be a priority in many of the countries of the region, despite the role and socioeconomic contribution of this category of workers.
It adds: “Even if their conditions vary, according to whether they are workers employed in the national or foreign “industrial” fishing fleet or those working in the artisanal or traditional fishery, the fishermen of the Western African countries work under very difficult conditions and seem more vulnerable than their counterparts working in the fleet of developed countries.
“Similarly, it will be noted that while some countries in the region have made real progress in the social protection of their workers at sea, others are lagging behind”.
The information contained in the invitation revealed that working at sea, aboard a (fishing) vessel, is not a job like any other, adding that work at sea is indeed a singular activity and “sea workers” or seafarers form an active population distinct from the rest of the workers.
This originality comes from the fact that the work is not done on land, but rather on a moving space that is in itself a harsh and dangerous environment, where working conditions are tough and the level of risk for the health and safety of seafarers, is high.
“The professionals of the sea are subject to many accidents at work, the rate of occurrence is among the highest. In addition to being exposed to the harsh weather and hazards of the sea, work-related fatigue, gear handling and harvesting pose a permanent threat to the safety of these workers.
“In addition, the nature of occupational health risks for seafarers, although constantly evolving throughout history, seems to have certain specificity due to own occupational exposures. This recognizes the sector some pathologies that are specific to it, or in any case that have a higher frequency than in other branches of activity,” as per the information made available to this medium.
According to the organizers of the seminar, to this, is added a phenomenon that the world seems to discover with bewilderment, a new form of modern slavery. “This is especially – and it is intimately linked to all the problems of the fishing sector (IUU fishing, the sustainability of fish stocks, transnational crime, pollution and ecological concerns …) – exploitation and abusive practices against fishermen, with many cases similar to trafficking in human beings. Nearly 60 million people are employed in capture fisheries, 25% of them are working full time on board fishing vessels.”
The health and safety of this population, it’s been pointed out, is an important social protection issue, thus to protect this category of workers and the contribution they make to the global economic system through the exploitation of marine resources and global trade, the international community has developed and adopted many instruments dedicated to seafarers, aspiring to ensure special protection for the exercise of their tasks, by providing for their guarantee, the minimum conditions required for adequate work on board, service, accommodation and food, protection, safety and health at work, as well as medical care and social security .
ATLAFCO stated that it seems that many States in the Region are lagging behind in terms of safety and social protection for this category of workers. In addition to the peculiarities of fishing work in these countries, where there is still a traditional artisanal fishery, these countries have only a limited commitment to international standards. They would be among the nations with the least ratified international labor conventions at sea, and even when this is done, very little progress has been made in the field. What is it in the reality?
By organizing this meeting on the theme of ”For access to decent and secure jobs in the fisheries in West Africa”, ATLAFCO proposes through exchanges between the participants, to assess and to illustrate the work situation of fishermen in terms of working conditions, safety and social protection, with a view to identifying and proposing realistic options / recommendations for making improvements to the condition of this category socio-professional in the countries of the Region.
About ATLAFCO:
In 1989, the Ministerial Conference on Fisheries Cooperation Among African States Boarding the Atlantic Ocean serves as Constituent Convention. The Protocol relating to the institutional framework of ATLAFCO adopted 15 Oct 1999, Conakry (Guinea).
The aims of ATLAFCO is to promote an effective and active cooperation between Member States for conservation and sustainable development of fisheries in the region.
