Page 23 - Islands Business January 2021

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BRAWN BUT NO BRAINS?

By Retired Captain Savenaca Kadavi

A couple of years ago, a Fijian who had been engaged as
deck crew on a tuna longliner was ‘offloaded’ in Hong Kong;
he knew no-one there and had little money.
Why was that action taken? Was he lazy, or ate ‘too much’,
got sick, attacked the other crew, or? No. The reason was
that he knew his rights and kept asking for them. Things like
decent food and adequate rest time. He was a bother to the
captain.
One fishing company representative recently confirmed to
us what I’d been told by community members living adjacent
to fishing company premises — that particular companies
sometimes are so in need of deck crew that they send a
driver into the settlements or along adjacent roads, looking
for youngish (and brawny) men to work as deck crew. “Hey
Boso - Want a job?”
Barring a few exceptions most 18 to 40-year-old men in
coastal Suva settlement communities work as deck crew on
Fiji-flagged and Distant Water Fishing Nation (DWFN) vessels, Trained seafarers
and most left school either at the end of primary school or
half-way through secondary school. As teenagers they saw
that their fathers or uncles got work easily on fishing vessels Funding
– so why bother finishing school? A job was there for the tak- Attending the FMA for one month doesn’t come cheaply and
ing once the teenager reached 18 years of age. On a fishing there are additional costs preparatory to the graduates re-
vessel. ceiving their sea safety certificate and logbook, the Seaman’s
Fiji maritime laws state that all crew engaged on Fiji- Employment Record Book, SERB. The average cost per person
flagged vessels must be certified. Are the pick-ups certified? is F$950 (US$460).
Mostly ‘no’. To date, the schooling and primary upgrading of Fiji deck
Apart from meeting legal requirements, there are benefits crew has been facilitated by a United Kingdom food process-
for fishing companies hiring certified deck crew. The first ing company, World Wise Foods U.K. and its Chief Executive
(lowest) certification is that of ‘Basic Sea Safety’ or ‘Pre-Sea Officer, John Burton, to whom eleven men, their families,
Training’. It has four components – personal survival tech- and us, are extremely grateful: John sent sufficient funds for
nique, personal safety and social responsibility, proficiency 15 men to complete the course and receive their SERB and
in elementary first aid, and basic fire prevention and control. certificate.
At first glance, even a landlubber can recognise skills in those Now demand has outstripped supply.
areas are of value on a vessel at sea. There are several reasons for reaching out to you, the
It took a fair amount of energy and time for us to persuade reader, for support to continue this training exercise: it
the first of the settlement men, all with years of fishing expe- ensures that all vessel crew are legal; there is logistical and
rience under their belts, to attend the Fiji Maritime Academy safety reasons for hiring trained seafarers; a trained crew can
and earn a certificate. At early discussions, the men’s body be a smaller crew; and the personal benefit gained by the
language at the thought of ‘going back to school’ was – well trained men expresses itself by their enhanced work ethic and
– just as we thought it would be, exemplified by the chorus interest in taking on higher-level training. Above all, it lifts
of ten volunteers for the first intake dwindling overnight to the standard of the Pacific tuna fishery, something to which all
just three: seven men determined that their comfort zone Pacific Islands nations aspire.
was greater on a fishing vessel. It was the thought of maybe In short, it’s a no-brainer for fishing companies to only seek
being paid F$5 (US$2.42) more a day that tipped the remain- out brawny men as deck crew!
ing three over the line, and having completed the one-month
course, those men became their communities’ instant heroes. Captain Savenaca Kadavi works with Big City Marine Con-
By now, eight more men have ‘gone back to school’ and there sultancy. For more information contact him at bigcitymarine-
is a line-up for the next months’ classes. consult@gmail.com or savekadavi@gmail.com

Islands Business, January 2021 23