Harassment of fishery observers is more prevalent than previously thought, with a new study finding that less than half of observers who experience harassment disclose any incidents.
Funded by NOAA Fisheries, the study was published in the Frontiers research journal 28 January, 2025. NOAA researchers estimated that roughly 22 to 38 percent of fishery observers in the North Pacific are harassed annually, more than twice the number that file official disclosures.
“This is an incredibly important study that provides proof positive that official statements don’t capture the whole picture of harassment rates – it presents a new method for better accounting for non-disclosure. It also is the first time that we have been able to quantify non-reported harassment incidents of fishery observers,” NOAA Fisheries Acting Administrator Emily Menashes said. “The work of this team is a critical step to help us focus our continuing efforts to end these types of behavior and provide a safer working environment for fisheries observers.”
