David Walter Bowen, Food and Agricultural Organisation Representative in The Gambia, has revealed that the Intentional Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates 24,000 of fatalities annually in marine fishing is a conservative estimate given the fact that data collection might not include every country or cover every village.

The FAO boss made these remarks at the opening of a two-day “safety at sea” training for small scale fisheries in developing countries on Tuesday, at the Tanji Training Centre in Kombo North. The workshop aimed at raising awareness, enhance understanding and commitment among partners, stakeholders, institutions, NGOs, involved in safety at sea in the country, as well as identify national priorities and action.

According to him, the ILO has made several attempts in the past to introduce labour standards for the fishing industry. “As recently as June 2007 during the 96th Session of the International Labour Organisation, an item concerning work in the fisheries sector was included on the agenda and we hope that, this will lead to a convention in the future, in which safety at sea will be one of the priorities,” he said.

He assured that FAO will continue to promote safety training, not only for fishermen, but also for trainers, inspectors, national directors and other national stakeholders.

For his part, Suwareh Jabai, Deputy Permanent Secretary Department at State for Fisheries and Water Resources, said the government of The Gambia is concerned with by the high loss of life at sea.  He added that the appropriate capacity to ensure safety at sea in small-scale fishing is lacking.

“There is a need for countries to enforce legislations, making it mandatory for all fishing vessels and transport boats to carry life- saving equipment at all times.

However, there is also a need to ensure that live saving equipment are available at affordable prices to fishing communities,” he urged.

Other speakers at the workshop included, Famara Dampha, Assistant Director of Fisheries, who expressed similar remarks. 

Namory Komeh, representative of the Sub-regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC), chaired the opening ceremony.