Fishing is a crucial industry, and has been for hundreds of years. The people who work within the industry face tough environments and many dangers, in order to bring fish to the consumer’s plate. As such, many unions have come about over the years to protect these workers and ensure they are compensated fairly for the work that they do.
What Is a Fishery Union?
The first thing to know is what exactly a fishery union is. They can also be referred to as a regional fishery body, and they are an organization that aim to regulate the fishing activity in a local area, as well as support the people working in the industry.
Typically, you will see these organizations sorted into two types:
- Regional Fishery Management Organization, or RFMO
- Regional Fishery Advisory Body or RFAB
The difference here is that an RFAB is an independent union, that can offer recommendations but these are non-binding. However, they are guided by science rather than politics. An RFMO then is a political organization that aims to serve the interest of their members, and the decisions made by them are legally binding.
The Need for Unions
Why do we need these unions to protect the interest of fisheries? Like any industry that relies on natural resources, there is always the concern of depleting those resources. These organizations aim to ensure that fishing is minimized in order to protect local fish populations, as well as ensure that there is enough stock for the future.
These organizations also aim to protect fisheries and the interests of the people working within them, too. When fish stocks are preserved, that ensures that the industries will have enough resources for the future and secure their profits.
A study in 2007 showed that fish stocks are very much at their limit right now. Around 6% of the world’s fish stocks are fully depleted, with 16% being over exploited and 44% being heavily exploited. With this data in mind, it is clear there is a need to protect the global fish stocks to protect the industry.
How Fishery Unions Are Organized
While there are two main types of union, the RFMOs and RFABs, there are several different types of RFMOs too.
These include general RFMOs, that have a general responsibility for preserving marine life in a certain location. For example, unions like the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission and the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement.
There are several RFMOs that are dedicated to preserving tuna stocks, and again these are dedicated to specific areas, such as the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.
Furthermore, there are other organizations that look to manage other types of marine life, including salmon and whales.
Example – The NUTFA Union
For a good example of a fishery union and what they do, let’s take a look at NUTFA. They are a British union, designed to protect the interests of the under 10m sector. That includes all sectors within this area, such as trawlers and netters, liners, shell fishermen, and any other fishermen making a living from this work.
The union was put together as it was felt the over 10m sector was overshadowing the needs of the under 10m sector, which affected policy decisions and more. NUTFA represent the needs of this sector at the local level, at the Advisory Council, and even European Commission and Parliament meetings. On top of this, they are also working to get fairer recognition for their members, and get better deals from organisations like DEFRA and the MMO.
They were originally put together in order to fight against quota allocations for those making a living from fishing, but now are working on several issues that they now face. For example, in the wake of Brexit they are facing new and tough challenges. They aim to bring their members through while protecting their livelihood.
There are lots of things they can do for their members, such as giving advice on grants that they may be entitled to, helping with paperwork, and so on. They also have just begun to team up with lawyers experienced in work with fisheries who volunteer to assist members when needed.
One of the initial ways that members can get help is by calling the support line, where they can talk to knowledgeable union members and get advice. This can be accessed either by phone or via email. They can also put members in touch with other organisations who can help them, if needs be.
You can see how organizations like this are aiming to both protect ocean wildlife by curbing over fishing, and protect the futures of fisheries in their local areas. The union will go about this differently, depending on their type and what they are looking to protect. However, you can see that the end result should be the same.
How To Write an Essay About Fishery Unions
If you are tasked with writing an essay on a topic like this, how would you go about it? Firstly, you could hire a professional writer from one of the online essay writing services reviewed at UK Top Writers. They have a vast collection of detailed reviews about almost every writing service available. Secondly, you could learn your way through the writing process, but this will only work if you can dedicate enough time to developing this skill.
Gather your data: Firstly, you need to do your reading and gather the data you need to write it. This can be anything from your class notes to books, journals, articles, and so on. Take notes and decide what will need to go in the essay.
In this case, you are covering what fishery unions are and what they do, so gather data that explains this further.
Go over the assignment: Before you start putting anything down on paper, look at your assignment to see what it is asking of you. You are looking for clues on what info you should be including, and what you should be leaving out. What is relevant here?
Create an outline: It is easier to write if you have a rough plan. Create a basic outline with headers, so you know what you will need to include.
In this essay for example, you will see that it started with a definition, then went into why they are needed, how they’re organized, and then an example of a union and what they do.
Write your paper: You have all the basics, so now you just need to fill in the blanks and complete the essay. Make sure you are using sources to back up your points, and cite them properly when you do so.
Proofread your work: You are not done yet. Now the essay is written, ensure that you are proofreading it. You are looking for any issues that you may have made without realising, such as spelling and grammatical errors. Remember that spell check will not catch everything. You can also give your essay to a friend, so they can look for anything else you may have missed.