North Pacific Observer Program

The North Pacific Observer Program, which is administered by the Fisheries Monitoring and Analysis Division, plays a vital role in the conservation and management of the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, and Gulf of Alaska groundfish and halibut fisheries. The program trains, briefs, debriefs, and oversees over 450 observers annually who collect catch data onboard fishing vessels and at onshore processing plants that is used for in-season management and scientific purposes such as stock assessments and ecosystem studies. The program ensures that the data collected by observers are of the highest  quality possible by implementing rigorous quality control and quality assurance processes for the data collected by observers.