During the Seafood Expo Global 2018 taking place from 24-26th of April in Brussels, gathering stakeholders from every corner of the globe, the European Commission will hold an event featuring the importance of food security and the social dimension of fisheries. According to industry body Europêche, with thousands of seafood professionals all together the event provides an ideal platform to get Europe’s message on the three sustainability dimensions of fisheries management across with thousands of seafood professionals all together.
More specifically, the social pillar will be at the core of the event and will touch upon subjects like international conventions, working conditions, safety, training and fight against forced labour.
Among the key speakers from the fishing industry, the civil society and international organisations, Europêche will participate in the event as a social partner, being the employers’ representative within the EU Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for Sea Fisheries.
Ment van der Zwan will speak on behalf of Europêche, highlighting its dedication to bring EU policies in line with international standards as well as to improve training, safety, living and working conditions on board of fishing vessels.
‘We are delighted that the European Union and the Seafood Expo Global 2018 are giving centre stage to the importance of the fishing sector as a food supplier and to the welfare of our fishermen. They are working hard to ensure that we can continue to provide healthy fish not just today or tomorrow but for years and generations to come. For that reason alone, they deserve our full respect,’ Ment van der Zwan said.
The industry will be furthermore represented by Europêche member Julio Morón Ayala, who will present OPAGAC’s Responsible Tuna Fishing certification. This distinctive certification guarantees the fulfilment of the best practices in three scopes of the activity. It guarantees respect for the environment and the species caught, the best control mechanisms in the fishing activity, and the working and safety conditions of the crews.
Building on the successes of our membership in the Social Dialogue Committee for Sea Fisheries, Europêche has been instrumental in ensuring harmonised and better working and living conditions in the sector through their agreement transposing the International Labour Organization (ILO) Work in Fishing Convention, C188 into EU legislation.
