November 22, 2024 — NOAA Fisheries has been deploying observers onto U.S. fishing vessels for the past three decades as part of the Pacific Islands Region Observer Program. Observers collect data on fishermen’s effort and catch, as well as incidental, or unintentional, interactions with protected species like sea turtles and marine mammals. But the program wouldn’t be where it is today without the pioneering observers from the first class of graduates in 1994. We recently sat down with Tonya Wick, the region’s first official observer, to look back on the program’s early days.
What made you decide to become an observer?
After graduating from the University of California, Davis, I found a job as a wine chemist at a winery in Oregon. (I had taken some viticulture jobs during my undergraduate coursework.) But I was still trying to find my dream job in fisheries. I had applied to the Peace Corps to work in their aquaculture program in Africa. I also found the Hawaiʻi observer job announcement working for NOAA Fisheries. Observing sounded challenging and pretty cool.
What experience or schooling was required to become an observer when you applied?
Oddly enough, I still have the original observer job recruitment notice from 1993! The observer job title was for a biological science technician, GS-5, based in Honolulu. At the time, the requirement was either 1 year of experience in fisheries at a GS-4 level, or 4 years of education above the high school level leading to a bachelor’s degree with major study in biology, chemistry, statistics, physics or mathematics. The announcement also details such things as “live and sleep in cramped quarters,” “no showers,” “does not have separate facilities for women,” “trips are 1 to 8 weeks in duration,” “operate in the open ocean in all weather and sea conditions,” etc. And, I might add, no radio contact and no cell phones back in 1994. I knew what I was getting into and loved the idea. Looking back it was the experience of a lifetime.
How did you become the first official observer?
I attended a 3-week training course with 14 other trainees (there were three other women) in Honolulu at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in February 1994. At the end of the course, we had to take a 2-hour long final exam. After the exam, the instructors announced, “We hate to report someone got 100 percent!” They were referring to me and followed up, “because you got a 100 on the exam, you’ll be the first to go out: observer #1, trip 1.”
What was your first trip like?
I was part of an all-Vietnamese crew that I believe was fishing for tuna. A day or two before we left, my supervisor, Tom Shearer, and I went down to the docks. We visited the first vessel that was randomly chosen to take an observer (observer 0001) to introduce me to the captain (Captain Andy—nicest guy ever). As we were talking, they broke the news that I (a woman) was in fact the observer… He dramatically pretended to faint—as women were bad luck at sea—but it was actually kind of funny. In the end, the 28-day fishing trip went very well. They caught a lot of fish, so I was then considered good luck! It was a good experience for my first time. They were so welcoming. It was also the first time I saw sperm whales, as we motored by Molokaʻi. That trip set the stage for it being promising for us to get data on sea turtles.
As an observer, what tasks did you do on the vessels?
The funding for the observers came from the Endangered Species Act, so we were there primarily to collect data on bycatch of sea turtles. We collected data on more than just interactions with protected species, though. We collected data on setting and retrieving the longline gear. During haulback, we documented the number of hooks set, catch by species, and life history data on individual species (for example, swordfish, tuna, and all protected species). We also tagged sea turtles and performed marine mammal scans while the gear was soaking or when we were motoring to haulback positions.
What is your favorite memory from your time as an observer?
We motored 10 days north to swordfish fishing grounds on one longline trip. As we were motoring, a pod of hundreds of Pacific white-sided dolphins, mixed with Northern right whale dolphins, surrounded our boat for hours. One fur seal was also there and rode the bow of our fishing vessels. It was like the fur seal thought he was a dolphin! It was amazing how long that huge pod stayed alongside our vessel—quite a sight to see.
What were some of the conditions on the vessels?
I’ve been on vessels with amenities, and others that had no showers or a toilet. I always shared a room with the crew. Sometimes there may have been a little bit of a language barrier but that didn’t bother me at all. I even tried to learn some basic Vietnamese.