Increasing U.S. Observer Funding

Oceana’s ongoing efforts to increase funding for the fishery observer program continue to produce results. Observers are trained monitors who count everything that is caught by a fishing vessel, including discarded fish, sea turtles and marine mammals. Observers are our eyes on the ocean and provide important information for fishery managers. In 2009, Congress appropriated … Read more

Protecting king salmon

The world’s largest fishery, Alaska’s pollock industry, accidentally catches and kills king salmon, an important species both commercially and ecologically. Accidentally killing and catching non-targeted species is known as “bycatch,” and 7 million kg of unwanted and wasted fish are thrown back into the water every year. After pressure from Oceana and its allies, the … Read more

Doubling funding for fishery observers

Thanks largely to Oceana’s efforts, the U.S. Congress doubled the funding available for fishery observer programs in the 2004 federal budget from approximately $14 million to more than $29 million. This included significant increases for Oceana’s top regional priorities, the New England and west coast groundfish fisheries. Since then, Oceana’s efforts have successfully maintained these … Read more