Nick Kightley on the deaths of two young Indonesian crew members and why we need to act urgently to protect fishers

Seafood processing

The horrifying deaths of two young Indonesian crew members aboard a Chinese shark finning vessel are a graphic reminder of why far, far more must be done to regulate the global fishing industry.

As this story from ILRF-GLJ demonstrates, the current business models cannot be relied upon to protect fishers at sea. All businesses in the supply chain AND all governments need to make fresh commitments – ILO C188 being one for starters!

ETI collaborates with ILRF (now merged with Global Labour Justice) on a number of advocacy initiatives and here is a graphic example of the reasons why far, far more must be done to regulate the global fishing industry.

ETI is currently collaborating with Global Seafood Assurance (GSA) on a study into worker voice mechanisms across the global fishing industry. This project builds on ETI’s earlier collaboration with Seafish in the UK, where a standard – the Responsible Fishing Vessel Scheme was developed and is now supported across the UK industry.

We need to see credible mechanisms for the support and protection of fishers everywhere and I hope that this initiative by GSA will help to get us there.

We should not also forget the value that being part of a recognised trade union can play. ITF acts on behalf of fishers and we should do all we can to strengthen their ability to recruit members and to protect them both at sea and through the recruitment process.

The fishing industry is a global business and while many fisheries around UK and EU waters are far better regulated by both companies and governments, stories such as this must be told and shared widely to raise awareness of just how desperately poor the global business models can be across the fishing industry.

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