International attempts to conserve fish stocks should not rely on the "observer" system of monitoring catches, according to an Irish marine scientist who worked as a monitor in the north-west Atlantic.
Mr Tim O'Higgins, a graduate of NUI Galway, says that the pressure placed on observers on fishing vessels is such that the data gathered cannot be trusted.
Mr O'Higgins had direct experience of the system when he was hired to monitor catches of Greenland halibut on EU vessels some 200 miles off Newfoundland in the fishery area controlled by the North-West Atlantic Fisheries Organisation. NAFO is an international fisheries organisation which was set up in 1979 to contribute to the rational management and the conservation of fish resources on the "high seas".
It covers the waters of the north-west Atlantic and sets total allowable catches and technical measures. It is also involved in control and enforcement, and vessels from contracting member-states, including the EU, are obliged to carry observers while in the NAFO Regulatory Area (NRA) and to equip all their vessels with satellite vessel monitoring systems.
Since the fishing "war" in 1995 between Canada and the EU, attempts to regulate the Grand Banks fishery have resulted in a drop in illegal fishing off Newfoundland. The "war" erupted over Canada's action in shooting over the bow of the Estai, a Spanish vessel, which was subsequently arrested and fined by Canada.
A new agreement between the EU and Canada in the wake of the Estai incident provided for 100 per cent fishery observer coverage on vessels licensed to fish off the Grand Banks. Some 50 to 60 violations per year, mainly by Spain, dropped back to just two arrests in the year after the detention of the Estai.
However, the responsibilities placed on the civilian observers take no account of the reality of the situation on the ground, according to Mr O'Higgins. He was hired in October 2001 by a London-based company and was transferred to the 60-metre vessel Patricia Nores later that month. His main function was to ensure compliance with NAFO regulations and catch limits in the area.
His detailed remit included regular filing of operations reports for each haul, verifying the position of the vessel, identifying the composition of the catch, recording gear used and mesh size, and monitoring fish discards.
"The agreement was to file weekly, and we were instructed that if we were put under any pressure, we were to signal this in some way - such as by an innocuous note about the weather or suchlike at the bottom of reports," Mr O'Higgins explained. "But this system broke down after a very short while simply because the skipper knew what was going on and could place one under enormous pressure."
When he was about to finish his monitoring period on board the vessel the skipper asked to see his figures and then exhorted him to change them. When he refused, the skipper cancelled a rendezvous with an EU ship which was to collect Mr O'Higgins and steamed back to Spain.
The EU supports in principle the use of an observer system in Community waters as part of its effort to improve control and enforcement. Mr O'Higgins says that the system as it stands is unreliable. NAFO in Canada was unavailable for comment.