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The Critical Role of Fisheries Observers in Data Collection, Compliance Monitoring, and Sustainable Fisheries Management
Sustainable fisheries management in the 21st century requires timely, reliable fisheries data and effective monitoring of fisheries in order to make informed, responsible decisions. The deployment of at-sea fishery observers is a central pillar of the National Bycatch Strategy,1 and the 2006 amendments to the MSA added new requirements for annual catch limits (ACLs) and authorized the expanded use of limited access privilege (LAP) programs, popularly known as “catch shares,”2 which will increase the need for fisheries information provided by fisheries observers.
 The deployment of observers on board fishing vessels is the best way – and often the only way – to monitor compliance with catch limits and obtain high-quality data on the composition and quantity of catch, including incidental bycatch of non-target species and discards of unwanted catch at sea. By one estimate, as much as one in every four fish caught in U.S. fisheries was discarded at sea in 2002 (Fig.1).3 Without observer fishery data, there is no way to reliably estimate total fishing mortality and assess the incidental mortality inflicted on other marine life -- including other fish species, deep-sea corals, marine mammals, sea turtles or seabirds.
Yet the majority of U.S. fisheries have little or no observer coverage. Only about one-quarter of all fisheries assessed for observer coverage in a national bycatch report by the Fisheries Service in 2004 are considered to have adequate coverage today, based on MFCN’s analysis. Although modest increases in congressional funding in the range of $38 to 41 million have enabled NMFS to expand coverage in a few high-priority fisheries in recent years, Congressional appropriations for NMFS observer programs still far short of the need. To address shortcomings in funding and coverage of U.S. fisheries, MFCN makes the following recommendations for increasing observer program funding and expanding coverage to adequate levels in U.S. fisheries:
MFCN Recommendations:
- Establish target observer coverage requirements for each fishery and prioritize observer deployment for fisheries that lack adequate observer coverage.
- Increase federal funding to support expanded observer coverage, ensure data quality, and improve national coordination.
- Identify appropriate industry funding mechanisms to cover the direct cost of deploying observers and other monitoring systems.
- Standardize regional observer program design and ensure that NMFS contracts directly with observer service providers to oversee the performance of the companies through their contractual obligations.
- Consider cost-effective alternative monitoring approaches such as electronic monitoring for use as a supplement to observer coverage where appropriate.
- Establish an information collection system to provide timely and accurate catch data to manage recreational fisheries in compliance with the MSA requirements for annual catch limits.
- Maintain public access to fisheries observer data to ensure that fisheries management decisions are made in a manner consistent with public trust management of the nation’s marine resources.
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For more information, see MFCN’s report:
Endnotes:
1NOAA/NMFS, Evaluating Bycatch: A National Approach to Standardized Bycatch Monitoring Programs, NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-F/SPO-66, October 2004. 108 p.
2See Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. § 1801 et seq.).
3J.M. Harrington et. al., Wasted Resources: Bycatch and Discards in U.S. Fisheries. Prepared by MRAG Americas, 2005.
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