Regional Cooperation on Fishing Vessel Safety in Southeast Asia

About two-thirds of the 4.1 million global fishing fleets are flagged to Asian states. Despite this extensive fleet presence, the issue of fishing vessel safety remains overlooked, demanding heightened attention and cooperative efforts. Across Southeast Asia and the world, majority of fishing vessels measure below 12 m in length. However, a binding international treaty for these smaller vessels is currently lacking, leading to their regulation primarily through international soft law instruments. Conversely, larger fishing vessels, comprising a minority of the global fleet, with lengths of 24 m and above, fall under the Cape Town Agreement that has yet to enter into force. As a region hosting some of the world’s top marine capture fisheries producers, Southeast Asia exhibits limited ratifications to international treaties that are relevant to fishing vessel safety. This chapter, thus, examines the status of fishing vessel safety in Southeast Asia, and evaluates the presence of regional cooperation to promote fishing vessel safety in the region.