Fishing
 Fishing is one of the world's most ancient professions.
Fishers on the high seas, along sea coasts, on lakes and on
rivers are all People of the Sea.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations
estimates that today some 41 million people live from
fishing and fish farming, with a great majority being from
developing countries. Broadly speaking, there are three
categories of fishing:
- traditional
- artisanal and
- industrial,
Threats to world fishing
Flags of convenience have brought particular problems to the
fishing industry. Lack of accountability means that health
and safety regulations may be flouted. Internationally
agreed fishing quotas may not be respected. Over fishing
leads to depletion of fish stocks damaging the future
livelihood of fishers. These practices also threaten other
marine species such as dolphins, sharks, and sea turtles
which are caught in nets and destroyed as “by catch”.
Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing)
is a matter of serious debate among numerous international
organisations. However there is a tendency to focus on the
loss of fish stocks rather than the dangers to fishers
onboard. Fishers involved in illegal fishing are usually
recruited from developing countries. In the words of a
report called “Why fish piracy persists”, produced by the
OECD:
they have few other employment options, they work on IUU
vessels for low wages and in extremely poor living and
working conditions to such an extent that they are
considered bonded labour.
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