Summary: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) management of the Foreign Fishing Observer Program, including: (1) the process the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) follows to develop program costs for budgeting and billing purposes; (2) the issue of health and safety conditions on foreign fishing vessels; (3) the use of observer-generated information; and (4) the use of contract observers in the Northwest and Alaska program.
GAO found that: (1) NMFS used an advance estimated billing process, based on the anticipated level of foreign fishing, planned level of observer coverage, and established cost factors; (2) the billing process has restricted NMFS from pursuing its planned level of observer coverage until sufficient funds have been collected and become available for obligation; (3) with a sufficient amount of working capital, NMFS could pursue its planned program level and implement a billing system based on actual costs; (4) NMFS should establish sanctions for foreign fishing vessels considered inadequate for the placement of an observer; (5) NMFS should set health and safety standards to judge the adequacy of foreign fishing vessels; and (6) NMFS considered information obtained by observers on foreigners' compliance with fishing laws and regulations valuable to ensure that all information needs were being met. GAO also found that: (1) adjustments to the training program curriculum could be made by adopting a standard training curriculum and instructional procedures for those elements of biological data that NMFS believes should be presented to all observers; and (2) NMFS used contract observers in the Northwest and Alaska regional programs, rather than federal employees, because agency personnel ceilings would not permit it to hire enough federal employees.
