Recent Global Conventions and Resolutions Targeting Improved Safety, Health and Sustainability at Sea in the Fisheries Sector – Strategies for Moving Forward

Sunday, June 10, 9:00am-4:30pm, Arts and Administration Building, Room A1043

 

This pre-conference workshop is co-sponsored by the Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI, Memorial), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Labour Organization (ILO) and International Maritime Organization (IMO) of the United Nations, and the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). It will feature presentations and dialogue about recent global initiatives related to fishing vessel design, fishing safety, sustainable fishing practices and fisheries management and their relationship to safety and working conditions in fisheries from different regions of the world.

Since the last IFISH Conference in 2009, several international milestones related to safety and health in the fisheries sector have been or are going to be reached in the very near future. These include:

1. The completion of the FAO/ILO/IMO Safety Recommendations in 2010 and the FAO/ILO/IMO Implementation Guidelines in 2011; and
2. The entry into force of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel, 1995 (STCW-F 1995) on 29 September 2012
3. The adoption of the Cape Town Agreement on the safety of fishing vessels in 2012 and the following regional seminars on its implementation and ratification;
4. The adoption of instruments to support the implementation of the ILO Work in Fishing Convention, such as guidelines for port and flag State inspectors;
5. The entry into force of the ILO Work in Fishing Convention on 16 November 2017;
6. The International Commercial Fishing Management Regimes Safety Study (FAO).

There is also growing recognition within international organizations and among researchers of the link between safety at sea in the fisheries sector, forced labour and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. In this regard, the Cape Town Agreement and the ILO Work in Fishing Convention are seen to be not only instruments to improve safety and health at sea in the fisheries sector but also tools that will contribute to the fight against IUU fishing, together with the FAO Port State Measures Agreement that entered into force in 2016. This is further reflected in the recent convention adopted by the UN Agenda 2030 supporting the new SDG #14 “Life Below Water” which advocates for improvement of the socioeconomic situation of fishers and fish workers and for capacity building and technical assistance and promotion of sustainable ocean-based economies, particularly in small island and developing states.

Workshop Overview

(9:00-9:10) – Welcome – Mark Abrahams, Associate Vice-President Research (pro tempore) at Memorial and Executive Council Member of the Ocean Frontier Institute.

(9:10-10:15) – In the first part of the morning session, workshop participants will have an opportunity to listen to presentations about particular instruments, tools, and guidelines given by Sandra Allnutt from the IMO, Brandt Wagner from the ILO, and Raymon VanAnrooy and Ari Gudmundsson on behalf of the FAO (Presentation slides).

(10:15-10:30) – Break

(10:30-11:45) – Panel presentations focused on experiences from the field with issues relevant to these international instruments and agreements. These will include presentations by industry experts from the UK and Europe related to the implementation of ILO C188 including:

1. Cor Blonk of PFA/Fish Platform – Guidelines on Medical Examination of Fishers – Protection of false hope?
2. Robert Greenwood National Federation of Fishermen’s Organizations U.K. Safetyfolder.co.uk and Work in Fishing Convention (Presentation slides).
3. Yugraj Singh, Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-governmental organization – the 2007 Work in Fishing Convention – a Status Report on the Bay of Bengal (Presentation slides).
4. Davey Hill ANIFPO/HRAS (presented by Robert Greenwood) – Human Rights at Sea, Assessment of Migrant Crew and Modern Slavery Act (Presentation slides).
5. Peter Vandergeest (York University) and Melissa Marschke (University of Ottawa) – Forced Labour and Working Conditions in the Fisheries Sector in Thailand.

(11:45-12:30) – Small group discussions to reflect on lessons learned as well as questions or concerns. Each group will select a recorder who will identify key points from the discussion and feed these back to the larger group and to presenters in synthesis session at the end of the day.

(12:30-1:30) – Lunch

Part 2: Fisheries management and safety in fisheries: The afternoon session will focus on the results of recent research on fisheries management and fishing safety.

(1:30-1:50) – Jennifer Lincoln (NIOSH) will present an overview of the results of an FAO Initiative that she worked on with G. Knapp and A. Gudmundsson. The report from this initiative synthesized case studies from 16 countries (Presentation slides).

(1:50-3:00) – Panel presentations

1. Douglas Christel, NMFS, U.S. “Last but not least: integrating safety considerations and analysis into U.S. fishery management actions”
2. Akbar Marvasti, NOAA, U.S. “Effect of safety regulations on severity of injuries in the Gulf of Mexico commercial fisheries”
3. Bill Broderick, Fish Food and Allied Workers Union, NL
4. Bob Lambert, Acting Regional Director, Fisheries Management, Newfoundland and Labrador Region, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada
5. Glenn Budden, Senior Marine Investigator, Transportation Safety Board, Canada (Presentation slides).
6. Tom Elliott, A/Manager Technical Services, Marine Safety & Security (TCMSS), Transport Canada

(3:00-3:15) – Break

(3:15-4:00) – Small group discussion for afternoon session

(4:00-4:30) – Plenary/feedback.

 

 

The pre-conference workshop is free and open to the public thanks to our sponsors. However, space is limited. If you are interested in attending, please fill out the pre-conference workshop registration form.

REGISTER FOR THE PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP

 

***Please note that registration for the IFISH 5 Conference is separate. For more information about IFISH 5, please visit the program or registration page.***

 

Workshop Biographies and abstracts (in order of appearance on the agenda):

Sandra Allnutt, International Maritime Organization – Mrs. Sandra Rita Allnutt graduated from the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo (Brazil) in 1993, as a Naval Architect and Marine Engineer. Upon graduation, she started further studies to obtain a Master of Science degree on Ship Hull Structures at the aforementioned university, and at the same time started her career as an Assistant Professor at the College of Technology of Jahu, in the State of São Paulo. In 1996, she completed a specialization course in Japan (Yokohama), on Ship Safety and Marine Pollution Prevention, granted by the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA). In 1998, after conclusion of her Master of Science degree on Ship Hull Structure, she went to Sweden, where she studied for a new Master’s degree on Maritime Safety and Environmental Protection, at the World Maritime University (WMU). In 1999, after receiving her second Master’s degree, she started working for Lloyd’s Register of Shipping, in Denmark (Copenhagen), as a Structural Plan Approval Surveyor. In 2001, Mrs. Allnutt moved to Germany (Hamburg), where she worked for Germanischer Lloyd, first in Ship Hull Structure plan approval, and later on Tonnage and Load Lines plan approval, until her appointment to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as the Secretary of the former Sub Committee on Fire Protection (FP), in 2005. After working for 5 years serving the FP Sub Committee, she took over the Sub Committee on Stability and Load Lines and on Fishing Vessels Safety (SLF) until the restructuring of the sub-committees, when she became the Secretary of the Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction (SDC). Currently, she supervises the work of the Ship Systems and Equipment (SSE) and SDC Sub-Committees and GBS matters.

Brandt Wagner, International Labor Organization – Brandt Wagner is the Head of the Transport and Maritime Unit of the Sectoral Policies Department of the International Labour Office, the secretariat of the International Labour Organization.   He is a former deck officer and engineering officer, and prior to his work at the ILO, worked for the maritime industry ashore and for various shipping and port interests in Washington. He joined the ILO in 1990, where he has been involved in all ILO shipping and fishing work, including the development and implementation of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, the Seafarers’ Identity Documents Convention (Revised), 2003 (No. 185) and the Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (No. 188).  Mr. Wagner frequently represents the ILO at meetings of the IMO, FAO, the Paris MOU on Port State Control and other international and regional bodies.   Mr. Wagner is the ILO focal point for UN-OCEANS.

Raymon VanAnrooy, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – Raymon has a M.Sc. from Wageningen Agricultural University (Netherlands) in Rural Development Economics, with specializations in aquaculture and fisheries. In 2004 he graduated from Madison University (USA) with a degree in fisheries products marketing. He has been working for FAO since 2000, based in Vietnam, Italy, Turkey, Barbados and Belize. Raymon was the 1^st Secretary of the Central Asia and Caucasus Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission (CACFish), and served from 2011 to 2017  as FAO’s fisheries and aquaculture officer for the Caribbean and Secretary of the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC). His main areas of expertise are in small-scale fisheries, fisheries and aquaculture policy development and management, institutional strengthening, fisheries and aquaculture economics, fish marketing, emergency assistance, and fisheries credit and insurance services. Since January 2018 he is working at the Fishing Operations and Technology Branch (FIAO) on increasing access of fishers to micro-finance, credit and insurance, techno-economic assessment of fishing fleet performance, investments in fisheries, strengthening of fisherfolk organizations and safety at sea matters.

Ari Gudmundsson, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – Ari Gudmundsson is the head of the Fishing Operations and Technology Branch at FAO Headquarters in Rome. Since he joined FAO in 2004, Gudmundsson has been responsible for fishing vessel development and technology, which includes safety at sea in the fisheries sector. Since 1990, Mr. Gudmundsson has been actively participating in the work of the three international organizations dealing with issues related to the safety of fishing vessels and fishermen, namely IMO, ILO, and FAO. He has also served as Vice-Chairman of the IMO Sub-Committee on Stability and Load Lines and on Fishing Vessels Safety (SLF). Before coming to FAO, Ari had held various positions of high responsibility at the Icelandic Maritime Administration for 18 years. Before becoming a naval architect, Ari also spent some years at sea on both German and Icelandic ships, rising to the rank of 2^nd officer.

Cor Blonk of PFA/Fish Platform

Robert Greenwood National Federation of Fishermen’s Organizations U.K. Safetyfolder.co.uk and Work in Fishing Convention – Robert Greenwood has been involved in the Fishing Industry since 1995 and started off working on small fishing vessels working in the English Channel, fishing mainly for Crabs and Lobsters. He became a Seafish Approved Instructor in 1999 teaching health and safety as well as navigation, seamanship and radio courses. In 2014 Robert was appointed as the National Federation of Fishermans Organisations (NFFO) Safety and Training Officer, a role that involves representing the English, Welsh and Northern Irish fishermen at national and international levels. Robert is also a member of the UK ILO C188 working group, who’s work involves adapting the UK laws affected by the scope of the Work in Fishing Convention – a task that is closely linked to the work of Human Rights at Sea. Above all Robert works to improve safety and working standards across the industry, to promote the lifestyle and produce that the fishing industry provides. Dedication to improving safety and welfare on vessels is evidenced by Roberts work on the SafetyFolder website, a free to use website written and designed by Robert to help owners to manage their vessels and meet legal obligations. This website has turned in to largest service of its type in the world. Recognition of his hard work came in 2016 when Robert won the Fishing News Fishing Safety Award.

Yugraj Singh, Director, Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-governmental organization – With a distinguished career spanning 35+ years in fisheries and aquaculture, Dr. Yadava started his fisheries journey as a Scientist with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research in 1976 followed by a brief stint as Advisor Fisheries to the North-Eastern Council. In June 1994 he took over as Fisheries Development Commissioner to the Government of India and continued in this position until April 2000. In August 2000 he moved to the Bay of Bengal Programme (BOBP), then a field project of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and in April 2003 converted the BOBP into an Inter-Governmental Organization (BOBP-IGO). Concurrent with other positions, Dr Yadava also held the important post of Member Secretary, Aquaculture Authority (July 1997 – April 2000 & August 2001 – November 2005) and subsequently the Coastal Aquaculture Authority from December 2005 – November 2007. Dr. Yadava’s scientific and developmental works inter alia include pioneering studies on large river ecosystems and their floodplains in the Brahmaputra valley; popularization of sustainable aquaculture practices (both fresh and brackish water) in rural areas; fisheries development in small reservoirs in north-east India; setting up of seasonal uniform ban on marine fishing in India; establishment of the Aquaculture Authority and later the Coastal Aquaculture Authority; setting up of the BOBP-IGO as a regional fisheries body; raising the profile of safety at sea of small-scale fishers in the Bay of Bengal region; popularization of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries; capacity-building in the BOBP-IGO member-countries on aspects such as formulation of management plans for commercially important species,  elimination of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, Monitoring, Control and Surveillance, etc. Dr. Yadava holds a Ph.D degree in Fisheries Management in Floodplain Lakes.

Davey Hill ANIFPO/HRAS – Human Rights at Sea, Assessment of Migrant Crew and Modern Slavery Act

Peter Vandergeest, York University  – Peter Vandergeest (Ph.D., Cornell, 1990) teaches and writes in the areas of political ecology and agrarian studies in Southeast Asia. He has conducted research on topics including the history of scientific forestry in Southeast Asia (with Nancy Peluso); sustainability certification for industrial aquaculture; alternative agriculture in Southeast Asia (with Mary Young); and most recently on market mechanisms and private sector involvement in the governance of fisheries and forestry in Southeast Asia. He is now focusing on the ecologies of labour in the fisheries, working with Melissa Marschke to explore how labour relations in the fisheries have been remade through migration, industrialization, and changing marine ecologies, and to learn what the recent controversies around unfree labour in fisheries can tell us about capitalism.

Melissa Marschke, University of Ottawa  – Is an Associate Professor at the School of International Development and Global Studies at the University of Ottawa. Her training is in human-environment relations, with a particular emphasis on livelihoods, common pool resources and environmental governance (co-management, certification).  More recently, she’s begun exploring coastal transitions (agrarian and aquarian transitions) in the greater Mekong Region and labour issues in the seafood sector.  Marschke is the author of “Life, Fish and Mangroves: Resource governance in coastal Cambodia” (U Ottawa Press, 2012), and have published in various journals including Environmental Science & Policy, Ecology & Society, Global Environmental Change, and Marine Policy.

Jennifer Lincoln (NIOSH)  – As a dedicated Injury Epidemiologist with the National Institute for Occupational Safety Health (NIOSH), Dr. Lincoln serves as both the Director of the Center for Maritime Safety and Health Studies and Associate Director for Science for the NIOSH Western States Division. For the last twenty-five years, she has continually worked to provide scientific research and leadership to develop tailored risk-reduction interventions for high-risk work, especially in the prevention of traumatic injuries among workers in the commercial fishing industry. Her efforts, in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard, have led to a substantial decline in commercial fishing deaths. Dr. Lincoln received her Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP), and serves as a Captain in the U.S. Public Health Service.

Douglas Christel, Fishery Policy Analyst, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) – After earning a bachelor’s degree in marine science, Doug took a year to serve as an educator and officer aboard a tall ship before continuing on to get a master’s degree in marine policy.  Doug joined NMFS in 2002, starting his career as a fishery management specialist working on the golden tilefish and Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog fisheries.  In 2004, Doug was promoted to policy analyst and started working full time on the New England groundfish fishery, one of the most complicated and controversial fisheries in the United States.  Doug coordinated the transition of the fishery from an effort-based regime to a catch share regime from 2007-2010.  From 2011 through 2015, Doug was responsible for managing the monkfish fishery and led an effort to update and streamline regional fishery-dependent data systems.  During that time, he also served as a U.S. delegate to the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), managing fisheries in international waters on the Grand Banks.  He led efforts to reestablish U.S. fishery operations on the Grand Banks, update and reorganize NAFO regulations, and develop safety standards for fishery observers.  For a brief period, Doug served as special assistant to the Massachusetts Commisioner of Fish and Game, helping to improve coordination and collaboration between state and federal fisheries agencies.  Doug returned to NMFS in 2016 where he now oversees the Atlantic mackerel, squid, and butterfish fisheries along the U.S. Atlantic coast.  Since 2014, he has provided policy and regulatory advice on safety issues for the Northeast Center Commercial Fishing Advisory Board.

Akbar Marvasti, Economist, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – After receiving his Ph.D. from Louisiana State University, Akbar began his career in the academics where he taught a variety of courses for a couple of decades. One of the unique feature of Akbar’s research is its width reflecting his curiosity. The range of topics include economics of health care, economics of education, international law, macroeconomics, international trade, cultural economics, labor economics, and economics of fisheries. However, since joining NOAA in 2010, his research has strictly focused on the economics of fishery with a focus on the commercial fishery in the Gulf of Mexico. Akbar has published in 25 different referred academic journals during his career as an economist including Economic Inquiry, Southern Economic Journal, Applied Economics, The Review of Industrial Organization, Environmental and Resource Economics, Economic Letters, Journal of Policy Modeling, Journal of Economic Issues, Journal of Labor Research, Journal of Economic Studies, Economic Modeling, Journal of Cultural Economics, and Marine Resource Economics. He has also been interviewed by a few highly reputable media outlets including Miami Herald, New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, Wall Street Journal, and Oregon Public Broadcasting. Akbar is a member of a few notable association such as the American Economic Association, Western Economic Association, Southern Economic Association, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, and North American Association Fisheries Economist.

Bill Broderick, Fish Food and Allied Workers Union, NL – Bill Broderick is the Inshore Director with the Fish, Food and Allied Workers-Unifor (FFAW-Unifor), a full-time staff position he has held since 2004.  Prior to being hired as a staff member, Mr. Broderick held the elected position of Inshore Vice President with FFAW from 1995-2004. Mr. Broderick has a vast resume of fisheries-related board and committee appointments.  He served as a member of the Fisheries Resource Conservation Council.  He has served on the Board of Directors of the Fish Harvesters Resource Centre since 1993 and on the Board of the Canadian Council of Professional Fish Harvesters since 1996.  Mr. Broderick is currently the Chairperson of the Professional Fish Harvesters Certification Board, a position he has held since the Board’s inception in 1997. He began his career fishing on the Labrador coast in the 1960s. During his 25-year fishing career, he owned and operated his own fishing enterprise in the <40’ fleet, with experience on a variety of vessel types (from small open boats to larger decked longliners), and has fished a variety of species including crab, lobster, pelagics and groundfish.  Mr. Broderick was chair of his local fishermen’s committee, and was a peer-instructor, delivering training to fellow fish harvesters between 1987 and 1995.

Bob Lambert, Acting Regional Director, Fisheries Management, Newfoundland and Labrador Region, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada – Bob Lambert began his career in Fisheries and Oceans Canada in 1988 as a Research Technician in Science in St. John’s, worked in Conservation and Protection as a fishery officer in various locations across the region, as well as position of Chief, Regulations, Chief Enforcement Operations and then as Director Conservation and Protection.  More recently he has worked as Director, Oceans Management, NL Region. Throughout his career, he has worked closely with the fishing industry on regulatory and policy issues both inshore and offshore and also with other nationalities on fisheries monitoring and control issues.

Glenn Budden, Senior Marine Investigator, Transportation Safety Board, Canada – Glenn Budden has been a Senior Marine Investigator at the Transportation Safety Board
of Canada since 2008. Prior to joining the TSB, Mr. Budden owned and operated a commercial fishing business. He has 35 years’ experience in the fishing industry, operating, managing and advising on several types of fishing vessels and fisheries on both coasts. In his later years, in the fishing industry, he facilitated the first industry-led stability education program (Fishsafe) to fishermen in British Columbia. Mr. Budden holds a Fishing Masters II certificate, and his last vessel was the seiner ‘Ocean Venture’.

Tom Elliott, A/Manager Technical Services, Marine Safety & Security (TCMSS), Transport Canada – 20 years with Marine Safety & Security as a Marine Safety Inspector. Responsibilities include vessel plan and stability reviews and approvals for many vessel types including small and large fishing vessels, cargo, passenger, and offshore support vessels. Statutory inspections and vessel enrolment and compliance inspections of vessels over 24m for the Delegated Statutory Inspection Program (DSIP), including FPSO’s. Tonnage auditor and liaison for vessel registry for all vessel types within the region. Currently working with a national TCMSS working group to promote stakeholder awareness and engagement on fishing vessel safety. Background in Naval Architecture and Marine Systems Design.