Observer Services Provided

Services to be provided

Observers provide an independent source of high quality scientific and other information from commercial fishing operations. This information is a valuable input into the management of New Zealand's fisheries resources, particularly the setting of sustainability levels and the monitoring of the environmental impact of fishing activities. Observers are also used by external agencies (e.g. the Department of Conservation (DoC)), to gather the specific fisheries related information required to meet their organisational obligations.

Observer coverage planning is a component of the Ministry's, and DoC's, research planning processes. Observer deployments are made consistent with the annual coverage plan and data collection specifications.

The targeted cost of Observer coverage is an average of $525 per coverage day, exclusive of GST. The actual cost of coverage varies between fisheries depending on the continuity of sea days and the shore day to sea day ratio required to achieve coverage days. These cost drivers are reflected in a lower cost per coverage day for deep sea coverage compared to inshore coverage.

Capacity

To ensure sufficient observer capacity to facilitate delivery of the observer coverage plan a pool of approximately 45 observers is required. These are employed on a casual/part time basis. To maintain capacity at the required level there are 2 intakes of observers per year, typically in May and October. Each intake process includes rigorous assessment and interview steps followed by a 3 week training programme based at the New Zealand School of Fisheries in Nelson. To complete their practical training successful graduates are then paired with experienced observers for their initial sea deployments.

In 2007/08, an estimated 11,200 hours of Ministry resource will be used to manage the services listed above, and an estimated 110,000 hours to deliver the 7,460 planned sea days.

Performance indicators

1. Information and/or data collected by observers throughout the year, in accordance with agreed client specifications.
   
2. Observer coverage delivered for an average cost of $525 +/- 10% per day.
   
3. Observer coverage of 7,460 sea days delivered to within +/- 10% of the agreed annual plan at either a species level or fishing area(s)/method level, depending on client specification.

Cost