Meet the Ministrys new Chief Executive - Ministry of Fisheries

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4 TheBite APRIL 2008 The observer programme usually arranges the trips before the observer arrives at a fishing vessel, but the task of getting onto the small commercial boats can fall to the observer. With smaller boats, the observer’s negotiating skills with the skipper is important, particularly when there are difficulties finding out which boats are active at any time and place. If all the polite approaches fail then the observer programme has to turn to the Fisheries Act to get the observer onboard. COLLECTINg SCIENTIFIC INFORMaTION aNd SaMPLES IS ONE OF OBSERVERS’ kEy ROLES. THE LaRgEST EXaMPLE OF a COLOSSaL SqUId CaUgHT IN THE ROSS SEa WaS ONE OF THE MORE SPECTaCULaR SaMPLES RECORdEd By aN MFISH OBSERVER. “The good news is that the stigma observers often received from inshore fishing operators, in particular, is now passing. They’re beginning to appreciate that we’re not there to scrutinise their every move, we’re there to safeguard the longterm viability of fisheries - and we have to gather statistics and facts to do that. “I think in general, fishermen respond to observations and care a lot more than they get credit for. Some of the larger fishing companies have spent lots of money on improving seabird mitigation techniques, yet that kind of fact, largely goes under the radar.” hOW ThE PROGRAMME OPERATES Funded solely by levies from the commercial fishing industry, the programme operates as an independent programme, based at MFish head office. With just four observer officers managing all observers around the country, there is a huge amount of logistical planning involved. “We operate on a knife-edge a lot of the time, just waiting to see what might happen next. It often comes down to requests for new information or the weather changing, so boat schedules then change, which in turn impacts the timing for getting observers across the country and onboard boats. “It’s the constant juggle of logistics which makes managing the programme very complex.” “Just to get observers on our books, they need to go through an intensive screening programme – looking at how they’ll likely handle situations at sea, or difficult scenarios, etc – because there’s nowhere to go once you’re at sea. “Once they’re accepted, observers then need to go through a training programme, be fully briefed before each trip, put on one boat or another, be debriefed afterwards, have their data processed for analysing and so on.” WhO DOES IT AND WhAT’S ThE ATTRACTION? A lot of interest comes from university graduates because it’s a good next step for marine biology – providing experience at the coal-face. KEy FACTS • The observer programme is an independent programme funded by the commercial fishing industry. • The observer programme currently has 55 observers: 45 male/10 female • Observer coverage for 07/08 targets 7462 sea days a year (note one 12 hour shift per person equals one sea day) • Observer coverage is often steered by stock monitoring or the request for more scientific data • Average inshore fishery trips range from 7-10 days or up to 35 days for deepwater trips • International trips can be as long as a couple of months. One of the largest trips took place last year which saw a female observer at sea in the South Georgia area for 150 days • Observers can earn up to $290 per day depending on experience and level of work required
OBSERVERS ENjOy THE SaME SEa CONdITIONS aS THE REST OF THE CREW. “Otherwise, we get people from all walks of life opting to give observer coverage a go. We’ve had school-teachers, bricklayers, corporates, the whole gamut. One of the attractions is a good daily pay rate, with observers earning up to $290 per day, depending on requirements and level of experience. “The fact that there’s nowhere to spend your money then makes it a great forced savings scheme.” “Some people choose to work six months a year and have six months off for holidaying or to just have the flexibility to do what they want more often. Accommodation and food is all part of the package and more often than not, no expense is spared when it comes to the chef. MONITORINg By-CaTCH OF PROTECTEd WILdLIFE IS ONE OF aN OBSERVER’S kEy ROLES. “You get roast dinners, bacon and eggs, all the good stuff.” CONDITIONS AT SEA David describes the contrast of experience for observers as ranging from one extreme to the next, depending on whether an observer is on a big trawl boat or a smaller boat – with a crew that’s used to observers being present or with a crew that’s not. “Because the big trawling boats are used to observers, they can be quite supportive of what an observer is there to do. More often than not, you get to enjoy life’s comforts too, complete with sky TV and DVDs, although some vessels have very few home comforts and small cabins. “Some of the smaller inshore vessels on the other-hand aren’t necessarily geared up for extra bodies onboard, so living conditions can feel less welcoming, but often the company more than makes up for that. We try very hard to match personalities as best we can when it comes to putting people in more cramped situations” David cites one of his greatest experiences as being an observer on the Ross Sea, during the 05/06 season. “It was like waking up in a national geographic show every day. The sun, the ice, the clarity of air, it was all so pure and quite magic. “That said, we were also recording a lot of data standing in snow, wind and rain, at minus 15 degree temperatures for up to six hours at a stretch. So it goes to show that you have to be prepared for a range of conditions.” For more information on the observer programme, visit www. fish.govt.nz Then go to Vacancies and click on ‘observer programme’. APRIL 2008 TheBite 5
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Meet the Ministrys new Chief Executive - Ministry of Fisheries

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