Fishery observers face bribes, harassment, threats, intimidation, and even injury or death

WWF and the Association of Professional Observers call for measures against IUU fishing

September 2013. WWF and the Association of Professional Observers (APO) are calling on the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), for urgent measures to protect the health, safety, and welfare as well as promote the professionalism of at-sea observers assigned to fishing vessels as a way to reduce illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing. Member states of the WCPFC, including Japan, China, the European Union and the United States, will meet in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, to discuss problems related to IUU fishing and conserving and managing tuna in the region.

Both organizations expressed concerns over anticipated declines in funding for the observer programme and observer support and asked the WCPFC and associated scientific and management support agencies to improve operational standards to ensure robust observer programmes.

"If we want to prevent IUU fishing and secure the sustainability of our fisheries for future generations, our fisheries observer programmes must be well-organised and sufficiently resourced. Fisheries management agencies simply cannot conduct adequate assessments of the fish stocks without reliable scientific data provided by observers," said Alfred Cook, tuna manager for WWF. "Moreover, the fisheries observers must be well-compensated as well as adequately protected to do their jobs well," he added.

Fisheries observers play a critical role in ensuring the sustainability of fisheries resources through the extensive information they collect on the harvest of fish stocks globally, including impacts on marine habitat and sensitive bycatch species. They also perform an extremely important monitoring function that helps deter and prosecute IUU fishing.

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