By Mamadou Edrisa Njie, back from Morocco
The 2012 Cape Town Agreement (CTA), adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), outlines fishing vessel standards and includes other regulations designed to protect the safety of crews and observers, and also provide a level playing field for industry. This agreement protects fishermen, according to Mr. Laamrich, an official of Ministerial Conference on Fisheries Cooperation Among African States Bordering the Atlantic Ocean, shortened ATLAFCO by the Anglophone and COMHAFT within the Francophonie.
Recommended that to ensure the safety of crews on board fishing vessels, governments should implement two treaties that currently governed other aspects of the fishing industry and are already in force. He referred to them as: the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter, and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing (PSMA) that seeks to curb illegal fishing through port inspections; and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Work in Fishing Convention (C188), which entered into force in November 2017.
The latter, as he outlined, sets minimum requirements for work on board vessels, including hours of rest and minimum age and repatriation and accede to the (IMO) 2012 Cape Town Agreement that will address the third aspect – actual vessel safety.
To ensure the legality and safety of fishing operations, he told the gathering that, all the three UN agencies- FAO, ILO and IMO have advocated for the synchronized implementation of these three instruments. The official went further to inform them that the Cape Town Agreement of 2012 is an internationally-binding instrument ‘not yet in force’.
According to Laamrich, the CTA Agreement provides higher safety standards for fishing vessels operating in their coastal waters. This would include minimizing risk to their nationals who work as crew and observers on board foreign-flagged vessels.
“Its entry-CTA 2012- into force would contribute significantly to fishing vessel safety and to all fishers,” he intimated. In his view, the entry into force of the 2012 Cape Town Agreement is expected to result in fewer accidents, fewer loss of lives, and more effective infrastructure for monitoring and targeting illegal fishing.
In addition, the CTA’s entry into force would give States a powerful tool to ensure that vessels flying their flags are held accountable for the safety of their crews; that fishing operations are conducted safely and legally; and that their safety obligations as responsible flag States are fulfilled, as Laamrich echoed.
Furthermore, it would encourage vessel operators to adopt a responsible approach to what is an inherently dangerous activity, thus helping States to safeguard their citizens who work on board foreign-flagged vessels and mitigate the risk of Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fish entering their markets. “The Agreement’s entry into force would improve safety and working conditions in one of the most dangerous professions in the world and minimize opportunities for unscrupulous operators to profit from IUU fishing operations,” he opined.
