ONLINE CURRENTS VOL3 - Flipbook - Page 14
This tension between observer and crew has surmounted into many ill-fated accounts of
observer harassment, intimidation, assault, bribery, and, like the case of Keith Davis, actual
disappearances. 16 However, tension is not limited to significant acts, but is as standard also
generated at a personal level of ennui given that the observers are typically of different
nationality to the crew. Observers, for instance, will consequently often find themselves
isolated by their nationality, culture, and language. Most obviously, language barriers
can
cause broad misunderstandings that exacerbate the likelihood of aggravations. Not that
there are any mitigations for such points of conflict: in the US Gulf Coast, for instance, where a
reported 80% of shrimp fishers were Vietnamese American, the U.S. federal fisheries observer
program was found to neglect any formal training procedure for cultural and language
barriers. 17 Rebecca Schewe, a Senior Research Associate for the Center for Environmental
Policy and Administration at Syracuse University, has suggested this as a prominent reason
for conflict issues between crew and observers:
“Current observer training inadequately addresses potential language and cultural barriers
between fishers and observers, undermining the potential of the observer policy. Based on
these findings, it is recommended that observer training be expanded to include cultural
sensitivity training and foreign language resources.”
18
Not until a full half-century after observing programs began were observer safety policies
critiqued. 19 It is not surprising then, that when it finally happened, the analysis’s findings were
alarming, to the extent that only four out of seventeen Regional Fisheries Management
Organizations (RFMOs) mentioned a disappearance protocol - without a single mention that
covered observers’ general health and safety across any RFMOs.
The damning findings along with the 2020 death of fishery observer, Eritara Aati Kaierua,
20
prompted the Marine Stewardship Council (MSc) to donate - a first of its kind - USD$100,000
and a further USD$55,650
21
towards observer safety projects. What followed from this funding
was the formation of On-Board Social Accountability (OSA) International Ltd,22 driving a vision
wherein “all fishing vessel operations are free from human rights abuses”. Procedurally, the
OSA would provide assessment frameworks by auditing the working conditions and
environments of fishing companies. However, since 2021, OSA has indicated little activity, and
prior to that, had little evidence of any substantial progress. Furthermore, neither the MSC nor
the OSA have been able to significantly drive policy or best practice in the field.
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