The 2020 review

The Schmidt-McCleave review was commissioned by MPI in 2020 in response to two serious incidents reported in 2019 (sexual assault, and sexual harassment). The review revealed that harassment and intimidation of NZ fisheries observers was a persistent and underreported issue. While many crews were habitually well-behaved towards observers others were openly hostile. The investigator notes:

“Sadly, due to the unique and challenging nature of the roles of observers and supervisors as I have outlined in this report, bullying and harassment has occurred extensively…. This has not always been reported… historically both observers and supervisors have viewed it simply as part of the role.”

The investigator goes on to mention some of the overarching concerns reported by the observers interviewed:

• “The fear of becoming a target and being isolated from others, especially when onboard a vessel and away from support… the potential to impact future work if an observer reports an incident...”

• “Witnessing poor treatment of others on vessels who have previously reported inappropriate conduct.”

• “A lack of trust in those on board the vessel…”

While the vast majority of her recommendations in her review have been fully implemented one remains outstanding:

“Consideration should be given at a policy level to legislative amendment to align observers’ protections with the legal protections of fisheries officers.”

Is Alignment with Fisheries Officers Necessary?

While the review recommended aligning observer protections with those of fisheries officers, the two roles differ. Fisheries officers exercise statutory enforcement powers and are shore based, whereas observers primarily collect data and are sea based. A more appropriate approach would be to amend Section 225 of the Act to have a specific offence should a crew member harass, bully or threaten a fisheries observer in the performance of their duties. Alternatively, certain fisheries officer protections, under Section 229, could be extended to fisheries observers.

New Zealand law already recognises that certain types of misconduct occur in inherently isolated environments, and these do not automatically require corroboration (as is the situation with solo observers). Given that MPI has a stated zero-tolerance policy with regard to observer abuse and harassment, clarifying these offences could result in a practical enforcement pathway and act as a powerful deterrent.