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A tough, but vital job

Scientific observation is key for sustainable deep-sea fisheries

By IW:LEARN

January 28^th, 2025

[24 January 2025] Port Louis – Contracting parties to the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA) exchanged fisheries observation experiences at a workshop in Mauritius, part of international efforts to promote responsible deep-sea fisheries management and biodiversity conservation in the high seas.

“I love the ocean,”

“It has been good to me ever since I started fishing as a kid.”

Fishing is the only way of life in the Fijian village where he grew up, says Saiasi, a sturdy man with a disarming smile. He would catch reef fish to feed his family. After graduating from maritime school, he worked his way up to become a captain before moving to the Cook Islands as a fisheries observer.

Saiasi travels to Mauritius every year to join the F/V Will Watch, a trawler that plows the waters of the southern Indian Ocean from its base in Port Louis. The vessel flies under the Cook Islands flag and fishes for deep-sea species like alfonsino and orange roughy.

“My job is to collect scientific data to help manage these fisheries,”

Saiasi says.

During his time on board, which can last up to 2.5 months, Saiasi focuses on monitoring the vessel’s fishing activities, recording catch and bycatch, and collecting biological data such as fish sex, length, and age.

There’s some bird-watching, too. His duties include recording interactions with seabirds, marine mammals, and reptiles. Far out on the ocean, mostly albatrosses approach the ship. Saiasi ensures that the tori line works to deter them from picking at a tasty bite and becoming entangled in the net.

Know what’s happening

This time, Saiasi has come to Mauritius for a different reason, though. With around twenty peers from countries fishing in the Indian Ocean and contracting parties to SIOFA, including China, Mauritius, the Seychelles, and Thailand, he has joined a workshop on scientific observation programs.

On this hot and drizzly December morning, the group is practicing onboard the Klondyke. They are following standard operating procedures introduced by Isaac Forster, a biologist with the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) and co-host of the workshop.

Forster explains the importance of standardization in ensuring the wide use of data. He adds that independence in reporting is equally important: “Unless observers can work independently, data quality is questionable.”

“Onboard observers enable you to know what’s happening in a fishery and what the impact on the ecosystem is going to be,”

says Keith Reid, a fisheries consultant who led the workshop organized by the FAO-led Common Oceans Deep-sea fisheries project. He adds that this is particularly relevant in deep-sea fishing, the impact of which on the environment can be considerable.

A period of overfishing from the 1970s to the 1990s caused the collapse of many deep-sea fish stocks and significant damage to seafloor habitats. While stocks have been slowly recovering, voluntary guidelines have been adopted, and regional cooperation has been strengthened to make deep-sea fishing more sustainable.

This is the raison d’être of SIOFA, says Marco Milardi, science officer at this regional fisheries management organization (RFMO). Observation plays a vital role, he adds.

“It provides the data for informed decision-making on sustainable catch levels and reducing the environmental impact of bottom fisheries.”

Girls go further

In the afternoon, the sky has cleared as the group enters the Albion Fisheries Research Centre (AFRC), just south of Port Louis. Inside, Mauritian scientific officer Luvna Caussy is ready for a demonstration of biological data collection.

First, she weighs and measures the capitaine, or spangled emperor fish, used for the occasion. She then performs a dissection, removing the gonads to assess the fish's maturity. After that, she extracts the otoliths, or ear bones, which can be used to determine the fish's age.

Mauritian scientific officer Luvna Caussy performs demonstration of biological data collection at Albion Fisheries Research Centre (AFRC). Photo: FAO/Manoj Nawoor.

Lana Gabriel never made cuts during her years as an observer on purse seine vessels. She would only measure and weigh the fish. Being a woman is not an issue when doing this job, Lana adds.

“My experience is that girls on board go further because they are better assisted by the crew.”

It is true that being an observer has a purpose, says Lana, now an electronic monitoring officer at the Seychelles Fisheries Authority (SFA). Someday, somebody may use your data to show that a stock has decreased and that something should be done about it.

“But all you can do as an observer is gather data.”

Being a woman is not an issue to be a fisheries observer, according to Lana Gabriel, electronic monitoring officer at the Seychelles Fisheries Authority (SFA). Photo: FAO/Manoj Nawoor.

She likes her current work because it’s more related to compliance. For many workshop participants, electronic monitoring plays an important role in this regard. All agreed that cameras on board could reduce the workload of observers, but no one thinks they will ever replace them.

Looking back, Lana would rather still be working on board. She loves being out there. But then she had a baby.

“That’s why I gave up being at sea.”

Being an observer is a tough job, Saiasi agrees. With bad weather, you can hardly do your work. You must be careful, too. There are so many moving parts on a boat. But most of all, it's hard to be away from your family. His 3-year-old son is impatiently waiting for him to come home.

Saiasi smiles:

“All he wants, is to go fishing. Just like his dad.”

About the project

The Common Oceans Deep-sea fisheries project promotes responsible deep-sea fisheries management and biodiversity conservation in the high seas. Funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), led by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and executed by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), it brings together a global partnership comprising the seven deep-sea RFMOs, the private sector, and international organizations.