What is CMM 2024-04 and when does it apply?
WCPFC Conservation and Management Measure 2024-04 sets crew labour standards for fishing vessels. The Commission adopted it at WCPFC21 in Suva in 2024. It is binding on WCPFC members from 1 January 2028. It covers vessels authorised to fish in the Convention Area that fish only on the high seas, on the high seas and in coastal-state waters, or in the waters of two or more coastal countries. It does not apply in territorial seas or archipelagic waters. Members are encouraged to use it before 2028.
What are the HMTC crew conditions?
Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency members apply Harmonised Minimum Terms and Conditions to foreign fishing vessels licensed in their waters. Those terms include crew employment conditions, as well as the licensing conditions for the vessel. They sit alongside your own country’s law and the law of the vessel’s flag. They do not replace a written crew agreement.
Do I need a written contract?
Yes. Before you sail you should have a written work agreement that you understand and that you and the owner, or their representative, have signed. You should have time to read it and get advice, and you should keep your own copy. From 1 January 2028, on vessels covered by CMM 2024-04, the terms must be in a written contract or agreement, in a form and language that helps you understand them, agreed before the trip starts.
What should my payslip show, and can my wages be withheld?
If you are paid a wage, you should be paid regularly, and you should get a written record each time. That record should show what you were paid and every deduction, explained in writing. Your agreement should say the amount, or how a share is worked out. Wages should not be held back to keep you on the vessel or to stop you leaving. No one should charge you a fee to get the job.
Can my passport or ID be held by the company?
No. Your passport, identity card and seaman’s book stay with you. From 1 January 2028, on vessels covered by CMM 2024-04, you must have free access to your own identity documents. If someone takes your passport and will not give it back, treat that as a warning sign and ask for help.
What rest hours and medical care am I entitled to?
You are entitled to rest long enough to stay safe. On vessels that stay at sea for more than three days, ILO C188 sets at least 10 hours of rest in any 24 hours and at least 77 hours in any 7 days, with only limited, temporary exceptions. The vessel should carry medical supplies and have someone trained in first aid. If a crew member is seriously ill or injured, CMM 2024-04 requires the vessel to stop fishing as soon as practicable, give the care it has, tell the flag authority, and move that person to medical care where directed.
Can I join a union, and what is the FMU Fishers Branch?
Yes. ILO Conventions C87 and C98 protect your right to form and join a union and to bargain collectively, at sea and on shore. Fiji ratified C87 on 17 April 2002 and C98 on 19 April 1974. Vanuatu ratified both on 28 August 2006. In Fiji, longline fishers are joining the Fiji Maritime Union as a Fishers Branch. The Branch is part of the FMU, which is an ITF affiliate. It is being established. It is not a branch of PIoWR. PIoWR is the consultant. Through Banati Sefeti, PIoWR is to be the Branch’s General Secretary until the Branch can stand and speak for itself.
How do I report abuse or a grievance safely?
You have the right to raise a problem about your agreement. Keep evidence: photos of the contract, pay records, a note of hours, dates and names. If you can, talk to a union before you act. You do not have to do it alone. A port country that receives a complaint may tell the flag country, and may act where conditions are clearly dangerous. From 1 January 2028, if the flag country has reason to believe a crew member faces forced labour or mistreatment, the owner must act at once to keep that person safe and allow them to leave the vessel, with medical care at the owner’s cost where it is needed. After you are ashore, a report of forced labour or mistreatment to the port country must be passed to the flag country and the WCPFC Secretariat. The lesson “Raising a complaint safely” sets out the steps.
Does C188 apply if Fiji has not ratified it?
ILO Convention C188 (Work in Fishing, 2007) is binding only in countries that have ratified it. Fiji has not ratified it. Solomon Islands ratified it on 8 January 2026; it is not yet in force. Even where it is not law, C188 is the global guide to decent work on fishing vessels, and it shaped CMM 2024-04. On vessels covered by that measure, the crew standards become binding on WCPFC members from 1 January 2028 whether or not the flag state has ratified C188. Your own country’s law still applies.
