Public Access to Observer Data
A project of the Observer Data Focus Area
Project Overview
This project focuses on advocating for public access to fisheries observer data and information. Recent changes in the Magnuson Stevens Act led to increased sheltering of US fisheries data from the public and NMFS is in the process of updating agency rules to comply. Without public access to fisheries observer data and information, independent institutions and organizations cannot evaluate observer program effectiveness; there is no oversight of fishery management decisions to tackle critical ocean problems, such as overfishing and marine ecosystem destruction from harmful fishing practices; and oversight is lacking for publicly funded research using observer programs to develop bycatch mitigation legislation. This project is currently U.S. national in focus but we welcome international efforts in areas of the world where similar problems of independent oversight may be lacking.Project Updates
Update March 19, 2010: APO FOIA Requests
The Magnuson Stevens Reauthorization Act 2006 (MSRA) essentially deemed all observer data and information confidential. This was a huge blow to the public's ability to monitor fishery management decisions through its access to fisheries monitoring data. The National Marine Fisheries Service has yet to develop national standards that implement the more restrictive language of the MSRA, allowing regions to develop their own interpretations to the Act, which could lead to bias against certain stakeholders' access to observer data. The nation's fisheries are becoming increasingly privatized, if not by law, by practice. The MSRA still insists that marine resources are a public resource. As such, the public should maintain its right to data access. Likewise, the policies of the government concerning data access should be transparent, but this has not been the case.
US observer program officials met in 2003 and again in 2008 to discuss how the agency intends to release observer data. These meetings and resulting NMFS guidelines on data release have not been available to the public. Because of these uncertainties, the APO submitted two FOIA requests in December 2009:
- FOIA No. 2010-00126 requested documents related to regional and national guidelines and rules from two time periods – 1990-2006; and 2007 – present.
- FOIA No. 2010-00153 requested documents related to the two FOIA workshops held in 2003 and 2008.
These records will hopefully shed light on the various influences within and outside of NMFS that helped shape the increasingly restrictive policy on public access to fisheries observer data and information, embodied in the MSRA. For details please see the following documents.
FOIA No. 2010-00126: requesting documents related to regional and national guidelines and rules from 1990 – 2006; and 2007-Present
*December 25, 2009: Original FOIA Request
*January 27, 2010: Revised FOIA Request: NMFS claimed that records prior to 1990 were archived and would be especially troublesome to access.
*January 5, 2010; January 13, 2010; February 23, 2010: NMFS Official Response, including a denial for a fee waiver.
*March 19, 2010: APO Appeal
FOIA No. 2010-00153:requesting documents related to two NOAA FOIA workshops held in 2003 and 2008
*December 25, 2009: Original FOIA Request
*January 19, 2010: February 23, 2010: NMFS Official Response
*March 19, 2010: APO Appeal
Click here for Archived Updates
Contact Information
Please do not hesitate to contact us with your questions or feedback, and if you have any interest in participating in the developments of this project. Liz Mitchell: emitch@efn.org Alicia Billings: aliciabillings@gmail.comProject Resources
- Magnuson-Stevens (MSFCM) Act:
Section 3, 101-479 (32) Definition of "observer information"
Section 402, 109-479 (b), "Confidentiality of Information"
Section 403, "Observers" - NOAA Administrative Order (NOA) 216-100: