Observers on fishing and seafood vessels

 Hey everyone! I will dive deep (no pun intended, or maybe it was) and stay on theme with the seafood and fishery industry committing human violations. Last week I briefly talked about observers disappearing, which I will talk about more in this post, as well as talking more about the appearance of these industries changing for the better, but is it just that, an appearance, or is change actually happening? 

Fishery observers track catches, including any bycatch, in order to preserve fish stocks. Photograph: Paul Hilton/Greenpeace

So who exactly is an observer? Who do they work for? And honestly just curious how much one gets paid (around $43 dollars per day for an IATTC observer) to perhaps risk their life and/ or see human rights violations in the middle of the ocean OR just being out in the middle of the sea for god knows what could happen. I am terrified of the deep open ocean and rogue waves, so I am sure this is not a job for me in the near future. 

Fishery observers are typically trained biologists and considered at-sea monitors. They collect data, monitor fish quotas, inform sustainable fisheries management, and ensure fishing and safety compliances are met. Here is what makes this job especially dangerous, becoming an independent observer who is often motivated by social justice advocacy. According to The Guardian, traveling aboard hostile fishing vessels, tracking catches- which include any bycatch of endangered species. If an observer is on board a ship where illegal fishing, trafficking, or shark finning occurs, harassment and intimidation are prevalent. Laws out in the sea in terms of jurisdiction are complex, and there is no international protocol for investigating an observer's disappearance or death. It is common knowledge that if an observer goes missing on a vessel, they must cease all fishing activities and find the observer for 72 hours or until the observer is located. 

                                                                    

 Since 2015 only nine observers have died, which doesn't necessarily constitute a human right violation. However, when the observer is the one person holding a vessel and captain accountable in the deep ocean sea with little to no laws, it seems fishy (I can't stop with the puns). SO, why does this matter? Because there are no safeguards and policies in place for observers in certain parts of the world. Henrique Ramos, a former observer who now runs seaExpert, states, "If the politicians believe in the rules that they sign, there is enforcement. In Europe, if you don't comply with the rules, you can lose your license. People don't disappear from EU vessels or EU fleets." There is no strict international protocol, and often times families of observers are left wondering what happened and why. Did the observers see something that was a human rights violation, such as trafficking, speculation, yes but then you hear of cases such as Eritara Aati Kaierua. He was a fishing observer from Kiribati on a Taiwanese tuna boat that was found dead in his cabin, beaten to death. Nuru Gillen another fishing observer, died on a Senegalese vessel also died on board though no information on how he died was provided. Edison Valencia just disappeared and was never seen again. What was interesting about Edison Valencia was that his logbook was never recovered. 

Fishery observer Eritara Aati Kaierua reportedly died from an injury.

So again, why do fishing observers matter? How does this tie into the bigger picture of violating human rights in the fishing and seafood industry? I am arguing that if nine fishing observers cannot get justice, protocols, and international implementation of regulations, how can the thousands presume to be trafficked, enslaved, and exploited? 

Observer Bill of Rights was written in 2000 and tried to establish a plan to improve and strengthen the retention and safety of observers. This is great, but its implementation is vague at best, and if countries do not uphold it, what is the validity of this document. It leads me to next week's blog on how documents and policies protecting human rights in the fishing and seafood industries fall on deaf ears, and governments say one thing but then do not act to protect human rights. 

Ghost Fleet by Shannon Service & Jeffrey Waldron 

"Ghost Fleet follows a small group of Thai activists who risk their lives to find justice and freedom for enslaved fishermen, revealing stories of survival and a criminal conspiracy at the heart of the global seafood industry."

Works Cited:

McVeigh, Karen. (2020), "Disappearances, danger, and death: what is happening to fisher observers?".  The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/22/disappearances-danger-and-death-what-is-happening-to-fishery-observers

Pesantes, Blanca. (2022). "A fishery's disappearance sheds light on a bigger problem" Mongabay news from natures frontline. https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/a-fisheries-observers-disappearance-sheds-light-on-a-bigger-problem/#:~:text=More%20recently%2C%20in%20March%202020,board%20a%20Senegal%2Dflagged%20vessel.