Work in Fishing Convention (2007) C 188, was adopted at the 96th International Labour Conference (ILC) of the International Labour Organization

International Labour Organization

The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...

 ILO

Ilo

Ilo is a port city in southern Peru, with some 58,000 inhabitants. It is the largest city in the Moquegua Region and capital of the province of Ilo.-History:...

 in 2007. The objectives of the Convention is to ensure that fishers have decent conditions of work on board fishing vessel

Fishing vessel

A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing....

s with regard to minimum requirements for work on board; conditions of service; accommodation and food; occupational safety and health protection; medical care and social security. It applies to all fisher

Fisherman

A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishermen and fish farmers. The term can also be applied to recreational fishermen and may be used to describe both men...

s and fishing vessels engaged in commercial fishing

Commercial fishing

Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often pursue fish far into the ocean under adverse conditions...

operations. It supersedes the old Conventions relating to fishermen.

Subject area covered

The following subject areas, among others, are addressed: the responsibilities of fishing vessel owners and skippers for the safety of the fishers on board and the safety of the vessels; minimum age for work on board fishing vessels and for assignment to certain types of activities; medical examination and certification required for work on fishing vessels, with the possibility of exceptions for smaller vessels or those at sea for short periods; manning and hours of rest; crew lists; fishers’ work agreements; repatriation; recruitment and placement of fishers, and use of private employment agencies; payment of fishers; on board accommodation and food; medical care at sea; occupational safety and health; social security; and protection in the case of work-related sickness, injury or death (through a system for fishing vessel owners’ liability or compulsory insurance, workers’ compensation or other schemes).

Recommendation

Work in Fishing Recommendation 2007 (No. 199) provides additional guidance on the matters covered by the Convention.