Guidance

Commercial fishing vessel masters: requirements for working with observers

Published 7 August 2025

These requirements apply to commercial fishing vessel masters. If you’re also the vessel operator, you will need to follow the requirements for fishing vessel operators as well.

If you are an observer you will need to follow the requirements for the observer role.

If you are a commercial fishing vessel master and have an observer on board, you must meet certain requirements when working with them. You can contact your fishing administration for further guidance on these requirements.

Safeguarding the observer

During the vessel’s trip, you must safeguard the observer by following the requirements below.

Create safe working conditions

It is your responsibility to ensure the protection, security and welfare of the observers as they carry out their duties. You must:

• let the observer inspect the vessel’s major spaces to make sure that there are no obviously hazardous conditions before deployment
• make sure nobody obstructs, intimidates, interferes with, or otherwise prevents the observer from performing their duties
• take all necessary steps to remove the observer from a fishing vessel if there is a serious risk to them

Accommodate the observer

You must provide food and accommodation to the observer of the same standard provided to the vessel’s officers.

If that’s not available, it should be as close as possible to the standard given to officers, and no lower standard than given to the crew.

You must check the standard working patterns for observers and accommodate them.

Handling emergencies and accidents

You must report any accidents involving the observer. The observer can also report them.

If there’s an accident involving the observer, including injury or death, you must:

• notify the Marine Accident Investigations Branch (MAIB) – call +44 (0)23 8023 2527 and then complete the accident report form
• make sure the observer leaves the fishing vessel if there is a serious risk to them – they can return when the risk is addressed

You or your crew must notify your fisheries administration and the observer company if an observer is assaulted, intimidated, threatened or harassed while on board a vessel.

Meeting reporting requirements

You must make sure the observer has access to a two-way communication device independent from the vessel at sea.

You must cooperate with the observer to allow them to carry out their duties. This includes giving them access to the catch retained on board, discards and catch registration documents (for example, fishing log book, production logbook and stowage plan).

You must allow the observer to report:

• their own estimation of catches, rather than reproducing logbook data in their own observation records, and check the consistency of entries made in the logbook
• on fishing activities, including gear configuration, vessel positions, catch composition or monitoring bycatch and discards (for example fish, mammals and seabirds)
• incident types and follow up actions

At the end of each trip the observer will send their data and report to the Flag State responsible body.

Do not ask the observer to share any data with you. All data and information they collect related to the fishing operations (including images and videos) is confidential.

You must allow the observer to remain independent and impartial in their duties regardless of nationality and of which flag the vessel is flying.

Contact your fisheries administration

Contact your fisheries administration for any questions you have about your requirements.

Northern Ireland

Email the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) at DAERAOPS@daera-ni.gov.uk.

Scotland

Email the Marine Directorate of the Scottish Government at UKFMC@gov.scot.

England

Email the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) at MMO.OPS@marinemanagement.org.uk.

Wales

Email the Welsh Government at wfmccmpc@gov.wales.