Even though fishing is common in the Maldives, it is considered one of the most dangerous professions in the world, with thousands of people dying each year. In October 2012, the United Nations’ International Maritime Organisation (IMO) came up with an agreement called the Cape Town Agreement (CTA) to protect fishermen and fishing vessels. The Cape Town Agreement on the safety of fishing vessels. The CTA is a global treaty for the safety of fishers and fishing vessels that fights against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and marine plastic pollution. It will lead to safe, legal, and sustainable shipping and aims to improve control of fishing vessels by the flag, port, and coastal state. The agreement could be applicable anywhere fish and seafood products are consumed.
Cape Town Agreement on safety of fishing vessels and fishermen
CTA provides a framework for global fishing safety management and outlines regulations to be adhered to by countries. The mandatory safety regulations in the agreement include machinery and electrical installations, stability and associated seaworthiness, crew briefings, life-saving appliances, fire protection, communications equipment, and fishing vessel construction. IMO assists countries with ratifying the CTA by providing technical and legal training and support, through its technical cooperation programs.
Minister Zaha Waheed on Cape Town Agreement on the safety of fishing vessels
The objective of the Cape Town Agreement is to combat illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing across the world. This video presents the following information on “pole and line fishing in the Maldives”:
- Improving fishing vessel safety to save lives
- The Cape Town Agreement’s significance
- Fighting illegal, unregulated, and unprotected fishing
The agreement is expected to enter into force on 11 October 2022, on the 10-year anniversary of its adoption and will only come into force 12 months after at least 22 States ratify it.
IMO has 4 pillars of safety, training, and rights for fishing and fishermen.
- IMO’s 2012 Cape Town Agreement (Cape Town Convention)
- IMO’s STCW-F Convention on the training of fishermen entered into force in 2012.
- ILO’s Work in Fishing Convention 2007 entered into force on 16 November 2017. It sets minimum requirements for work onboard.
- FAO’s Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing (PSMA), 2009, which entered into force in 2016.
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IMO is raising awareness of the CTA to help bring it into force. Currently, 16 states have ratified the agreement while 48 countries committed to ratifying the agreement by October 2022.
Cape town convention countries
It has currently been signed by France, Gabon, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Mozambique, Switzerland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, and it has been approved by the European Union and three states: Gabon, Luxembourg, and Sweden.
Cape Town convention signatories
The Cape Town Treaty entered into force on March 1, 2006, after being approved by 57 parties.
| Depositary | International Institute for the Unification of Private Law |
|---|---|
| Signed date | November 16, 2001 |
| Requirement | 3 ratifications are required. |
