August 18, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
NOAA Fisheries this week made effective new regulations to implement measures that will promote the safety of fisheries observers on tuna-fishing vessels. These measures reflect stronger international standards developed through years of U.S.-led negotiations to improve the safety of observers at sea.
For example, the measures require countries and vessel operators to take emergency actions to help observers if an observer is threatened, harassed, assaulted, missing, presumed fallen overboard, injured, or suffering from a serious illness. Also, observers aboard purse seine vessels will now receive emergency communication devices and personal locator beacons before leaving port.
Fisheries observers collect data essential to the international organizations managing tuna fishing in the eastern Pacific Ocean: the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) and Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Program (AIDCP). IATTC staff use the information collected by observers in fish stock assessments and to evaluate the compliance of member nations’ fishing fleets with international conservation measures.
Fisheries observers often face hazardous situations at sea. Rough waters churned up by storms, as well as busy decks with crews pulling in their catch, create dangerous conditions. Observers can also encounter difficult situations on board a vessel with fishing crews who can view them as intrusive.