New FSM Code to assist fishermen with ILO 188 implementation

The UK’s fishing federations in conjunction with the MCA Fishing Safety ​team have developed a Fishing Safety Management (FSM) System that will assist fishermen with the imminent implementation of a generational change to fishing safety legislation – the Work in Fishing Convention (ILO 188).

The Convention, aimed at creating a set of common worldwide standards for health, safety and working conditions, will be implemented into UK law in mid-2018, to introduce new responsibilities for the safety management of fishing vessels.

    “While we know that there will be a legal responsibility on the owner to ensure that their vessel or vessels are managed safely, there was also no guidance on what that meant. We felt strongly that industry should lead this agenda rather than leaving it to the MCA, or waiting for a judge to interpret the legislation in response to a potential dispute,” NFFO safety officer Robert Greenwood said at the launch event at North P&I.

Namely, the FSM Code was proposed by the UK’s Federations to the Fishing Industry Safety Group (FISG). The idea was to give early clarity on how the new requirements were to be incorporated into the UK’s diverse range of fishing vessels. By having a simple structure, the FSM Code is scalable to vessel size and will make it applicable from the single-handed owner operator to the largest vessels in the UK fleet.

    “Through the FSM Code, fishing vessel owners have the freedom and flexibility to design a safety management system comprehensive enough to account for the human rights and welfare protections of fishers,” said Daniel Shepherd of HRAS, hailing the adoption.

The FSM Code is voluntary, providing all the guidance necessary to help owners to structure their safety management and to self audit.

The code structure will also provide an auditable system that can help, not only to keep vessels safe, but also meet market needs for providing evidence of legal compliance.

    Trevor Jones of the Welsh Fishermen’s Association said: “We are noticing greater demands from the supply chain to demonstrate that UK vessels are compliant with ILO C188 and the Modern Slavery Act. While we believe that the UK is presently one of the best countries in the world for compliance, this code enables us seamlessly to improve upon and provide evidence of our position.”