'Fisheries Observers are Human Rights Defenders on the World’s Oceans', November 25, 2020

Fisheries observers are human rights defenders on the world’s oceans. These individuals work independently onboard commercial fishing vessels around the world to collect scientific data on the state of the marine environment, and in some instances report on compliance with fisheries conservation and management measures… Fisheries observers risk their lives defending not only our human rights related to the environment but the environment on which our human rights depend… Fisheries observers have faced intimidation, threats, and have even disappeared or been killed while on the job, but the international, national, and corporate policy responses have been woefully lacking…

In this briefing note, Greenpeace US explains… what special protections are fisheries observers entitled to as human rights defenders and what obligations do states (and private actors) have in safeguarding those protections and… offer several recommendations to adequately protect fisheries observers as key human rights defenders…

Fisheries observers identify violations of conservation and management measures... Fisheries observers also play a vital role in preventing overfishing and illegal fishing… Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing is one of the main contributors to fish population decline, and threatens our collective right to a sustainable marine environment…