FISHERIES OBSERVER BRANCH OVERVIEW

The National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Region, Fisheries Observer Branch implements field aspects of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, Endangered Species Act, and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

The Fisheries Observer Branch began fielding mandatory observers in 1976 aboard U.S. tuna purse seine vessels fishing in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean until 1994 when this authority was delegated to the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission. This program was established under the Marine Mammal Protection Act out of public concern for the incidental take of small cetaceans used by fishermen to locate tuna. Mortalities, especially spotted (Stenella attenuata), spinner (S. Longirostris), and common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) resulted from net entanglement.

Beginning July 1990, the Fisheries Observer Branch began placing mandatory observers on the California set gillnet fishery targeting California halibut, angel shark, white seabass, soupfin shark, and yellowtail. The last field station was closed in July 1994. Observed incidental take included California sea lions (Zalophus californianus), northern elephant seals (mirounga angustirostris), harbor seals (Phoca vitulina), harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), sea otters (Enhydra lutris), sea turtles, especially loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta), cormorants (Phalacrocorax sp.), and common murres (Uria aalge).

Also beginning July 1990, the Fisheries Observer Branch began placing mandatory observers aboard the Pacific drift gillnet fishery targeting swordfish and thresher shark. In February 1994, the Hawaii longline observer program was established to monitor the incidental sea turtle take for vessels targeting billfishes and tunas.