Oceana has filed a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for its “failure to require adequate observer coverage” for the New England groundfish fishery for cod, haddock and flounder.
Oceana is accusing the government of setting observer monitoring at very low levels, using what it calls an unlawful interpretation of the legal minimum requirement for observers. Observers work onboard fishing vessels to monitor how many fish are caught, including those discarded, and the information they gather is also used to estimate the amount of catch in the entire fishery, to guide fishery management decision making.
“In order to restore New England’s groundfish populations to healthy levels, we need enough monitoring to enforce scientifically based catch limits,” said Gib Brogan, Northeast representative for Oceana. “Impartial observers on fishing vessels are crucial in getting accurate data on how many fish are being taken out of the ocean, which helps to make sure fishing stays within limits so populations can rebuild in the future.”
In 2010 a new management programme for the New England groundfish fishery divided the fishery into “sectors” and Oceana says that for the sector program to work properly, more observers are needed on fishing boats to ensure each sector stops fishing when the number of fish landed and discarded reaches its assigned quota.
