After the discussion of implementing the recommendations, the participants considered the steps to be taken in the near future to take advantage of external assistance dealing with sea safety.
The group indicated that there should be a national focus to any assistance which may be available. As improving sea safety is a national responsibility, the priority should be to increase national capability and to complement national efforts rather than to act as a substitute for national efforts.
It was also acknowledged that there is considerable variability in assistance needs across the very diverse countries of the Pacific Islands region. This suggests that assistance must be tailored to individual countries and to do so may require substantial consultation to "get it right".
Finally, development assistance should be formulated in recognition that sea safety conditions are not static. Conditions that affect small fishing boat safety will inevitably change. Some of the changes which are likely to occur are:
increasing populations in Pacific Island countries, resulting in decreasing availability of near-shore fishery resources, encouraging fishers in small fishing boats to venture further offshore in pursuit of pelagic fish;
fewer alternatives to fishing employment;
greater use of fish aggregating devices, which has both positive and negative implications for safety;
decreasing use of wood as a small boat construction material, increasing use of fibreglass;
an increase in the size of outboard engines;
a greater need to take risks in order to repay fishing equipment loans;
less traditional fishing craft;
erosion of traditional seamanship skills.
