Observer Program

An observer program places trained, independent observers aboard fishing vessels to record catch, bycatch, discards, gear, and protected-species interactions firsthand, supplying fishery-dependent data that logbooks alone cannot verify. Coverage is set as a percentage of trips or effort: tuna RFMOs such as WCPFC and IATTC mandate 100% observer coverage on large purse seiners but much lower rates on longliners, where electronic monitoring increasingly fills the gap. Observer data calibrate logbook reporting, quantify discard rates for stock assessment, and document compliance for RFMO and MSC purposes. Observer safety, sea-day cost, and coverage gaps on small or distant vessels are the recurring limits, and they drive the shift toward camera-based electronic monitoring.