A congressional watchdog agency says that serious improvements are needed in the way the federal government manages observers and bycatch in the nation’s fisheries.
A recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) calls on the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to bolster observers on fishing vessels and develop better ways to track and monitor bycatch.
The July 10 report is based on interviews with NMFS officials. It looks at the agency through the lens of five specific fisheries across the country.
For the Alaska region, the report looked at the Bering Sea pollock trawl fishery, the largest single-species fishery in the world.
The Alaska pollock fishery is among a relatively small number of high-value federal fisheries able to afford having at least one observer aboard vessels at all times while fishing.
According to the report, the Alaska pollock industry spent more than $15 million of its own money in 2021 putting observers on trawl vessels.
In contrast, the less profitable Gulf of Alaska shrimp trawl fishery didn’t spend any of its own money on observers in 2021. Through federal funding, it has had observers on roughly 2% of fishing trips in recent years, NMFS officials said in the report.
Overall, the report found issues with limited funding and high turnover for observers. It recommends NMFS identify additional resources it needs to support fisheries observers across the five regions it manages.
The report also cites shortcomings in the ways the agency manages bycatch across the five regions, including a lack of measurable performance goals and a means of tracking progress toward goals laid out in NMFS’ current national bycatch reduction strategy.
Prior to publication, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is NMFS’ parent agency, reviewed the report’s findings. In a letter included in the report, NOAA agreed with all of the watchdog agency’s recommendations. NOAA said that it’s already working to address the shortcomings.
When it comes to reducing bycatch and improving bycatch monitoring throughout the United States, it’s unclear how the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn a 1984 ruling known as the “Chevron deference” will play out for agencies like NMFS.
The decision limits the power of federal agencies to interpret laws when facing legal challenges. It was sparked by a case brought by fishing vessel owners from the Atlantic herring fishery in January. Their suit challenged the federal requirement that boats have to pay out of pocket to have observers onboard vessels.
