Appendix 1: Port hygiene checklist
Appendix 2: Hygiene infrastructure deficiencies
Appendix 3: Personal hygiene facilities onboard vessels
Based on E.U. Directives
The standard of personal hygiene of the workers employed inside a fishing harbour depends on both the sanitary infrastructure available and the harbour management in enforcing certain directives.
TOILETS: Toilets should be constructed to the highest standards possible to ensure the maximum lifetime. Poorly built facilities break down very quickly and in hot climates they give rise to "toilets of opportunity" elsewhere. Toilet facilities should always be properly maintained and full-time manning by attendants is desirable. Toilets should never open on to a work area where fish is being handled due to the risk of flooding from blocked drains.
WASH-HAND BASINS: An adequate number of wash-hand basins should be provided within each toilet block. These should be equipped with arm or foot-operated faucets, and soap should be available at all times. Household-type fittings should not be specified, as these do not withstand the rigours of constant use. Water-saving spring loaded faucets should be provided in areas where water in scarce.
SHOWERS: The importance of showers in hot climates should not be underestimated; fishermen returning from long journeys always welcome a shower with proper running water. As with toilets, showers should be built to the highest standard possible and manned by attendants. When the harbour is not offloading fish, showers should be locked up.
SIGNS AND BILL BOARDS: Appropriate signs and bill boards listing food hygiene regulations should form part of the harbour's sanitary awareness infrastructure. These signs should be displayed at all the strategic locations within the port boundary. Examples:
· "NO SMOKING, NO SPITTING, NO EATING" signs should be posted wherever fish is being handled;· "HAVE YOU WASHED YOUR HANDS?" signs should be posted at all toilet exits;
Adequate signs should also be posted in prominent locations indicating the direction to the toilets. Proper and frequent training of port workers in personal hygiene should form part of the harbour master's management brief. Port sanitation is to the port what personal hygiene is to the workers employed by the port. Port sanitation is best explained by the following simple regulations:
1. All water supplies inside the port should comply with national drinking water standards;2. All ice, whether manufactured inside the port or brought in from outside suppliers, should also comply with national drinking water standards;
3. All chlorination equipment should be functional and adequate supplies of the chlorination agent should be held in stock;
4. All sampling and testing earned out inside the port should be carried out by ISO certified laboratories only;
5. Appropriate signs should be displayed within the port area covering the prohibition of dumping, spillage, use of sea water from inside harbour basin, spitting, eating areas, access for domestic animals, etc.;
6. Appropriate bill boards should be displayed at strategic locations listing fines for contravention of port hygiene rules;
7. All drainage systems (indoor and outdoor) should be kept in perfect working order;
8. Port perimeter fences should be properly maintained to keep unauthorised people and domestic animals from entering the port area at any time;
9. The entrance and exit to a fishing port area should be manned during business hours to prevent unauthorised people from gaining entry to the fish handling areas;
10. Disinfection of required areas should be carried out on a regular basis;
11. No excessive trash and wet waste should be left to accumulate in work areas;
12. No rodent harbourage should exist in and around the port area (tall weeds, junk piles and municipal rubbish);
13. No birds should be nesting inside open sided auction halls and fish handling sheds;
14. Only employees and officially recognized fish traders should be allowed access to the work area during fish handling operations and auctions;
15. Toilet and shower facilities should be kept scrupulously clean and in perfect working order;
16. Only electrically powered machinery should be allowed inside the auction or handling sheds to prevent oil, petrol and diesel from leaking onto the floors which are sometimes used as auction surfaces for large fish;
17. The entire fish handling area should be hosed down properly at the end of business and locked up to prevent unauthorised entry until the next auction.
based on actual observations
The sanitary infrastructure inside many fishing harbours is always a cause for concern, especially when health or food hygiene inspectors are expected for an official inspection visit. The following infrastructure deficiencies are amongst the most common infractions which the inspectors look for:
a) Toilets are sometimes totally absent from the harbour infrastructure;b) Toilets do not have an adequate water supply to flush;
c) Toilets drains are often uncovered and full of rubbish like plastic bags, fruit, etc. causing blockages;
d) Toilets open out onto work areas where sewage can flood directly into the processing/handling area;
e) Toilets and wash-hand basin fittings are often out of order, broken or missing;
f) Toilet wash-hand basins are often left without soap or wipe towels/blowers;
g) No "HAVE YOU WASHED YOUR HAND?" signs posted inside toilets;
h) Doors are often unserviceable and removed off the hinges because the timber from which they are manufactured absorbs too much moisture and renders them inoperable;
i) Toilets and shower blocks are often unattended and abandoned;
j) Toilets are often flooded from leaking pipes or roofs;
k) Sewage disposal or treatment is either absent or totally inadequate;
Based on EU directives
The standard of personal hygiene set out for the shore workers inside the fishing port also applies to the crews onboard fishing vessels. It is very common for wooden trawlers (all sizes) with fishing trips lasting more than three days and crewed by 10 or more people to be lacking even the basic hygiene facilities. Needless to say, this always leads to contaminated fish landings.
The figures below show how basic facilities may be retro-fitted to existing vessels.
Figure 67: STEEL FRAMED FACILITY HANGING OVER THE TRANSOM
The structure above consists of a steel framed box structure suspended over the rear of the vessel and is ideal for retro-fitting existing vessels with a high transom. Access is over the coaming. The facility should be used only on the high seas when the vessel is moving. When the vessel is in port, shore facilities should be used.
When the transom of a vessel allows for modifications in the coaming, a walk-in facility may be installed. This type of retro-fit is safer in rough weather due to the fact that access is not gained by jumping over the coaming.
As with the previous version, this kind of toilet must only be used when the vessel is out of port. In both cases, if sea water is used for rinsing, appropriate soap must be provided.
