(1) This section establishes the Fiji Observer Programme. (2) The Fiji Observers Programme shall be responsible for collecting, recording and reporting reliable and accurate information for scientific, management, and compliance purposes including— (a) the species, quantity, size, age and condition of fish taken; (b) the methods used and areas and depths at which fish are taken; (c) the effects of fishing methods on fish and the environment; (d) all aspects of the operation of any vessel; (e) processing, transportation, transhipment, storage or disposal of any fish; (f) monitoring the implementation of management measures and applicable international conservation and management measures; or (g) any other matter that may assist the Permanent Secretary to obtain, analyse, or verify information regarding fisheries for scientific, management and compliance purposes.

(1) The Permanent Secretary may, by notice published in the Gazette, designate persons to act as observers on vessels issued with valid licences or authorisations pursuant to this Act or any regulation made under it. (2) The Permanent Secretary may, by notice published in the Gazette, designate nationals of other States to be observers for the purposes of this Act. (3) Notwithstanding subsection (1), observers may be designated in accordance with any cooperation agreement to which Fiji is party and shall be so designated provided that such agreement enables the reciprocal recognition of observers. (4) Persons designated in accordance with subsections (2) and (3) who are not Fijian citizens shall be subject to the provisions of this Act while carrying out their duties and functions.

(1) Observers shall be permitted to board any vessel issued with a valid licence or authorisation pursuant to this Act and remain on such vessel for the purpose of exercising the observers’ functions stipulated under section 68. (2) The operator, master, and each member of the crew of such vessel shall allow and assist an observer to—(a) board and remain on such vessel for the purpose of carrying out his or her duties and functions, at such time and place as the Permanent Secretary may require; (b) have full access to and the use of facilities and equipment on board the vessel which the observer may determine necessary to carry out his or her duties, including— (i) full access to the bridge, fish on board and areas which may be used to hold, process, weigh and store fish; (ii) full access to the vessel’s records including its log and documentation for the purpose of records inspection and copying; (iii) full access to fishing gear on board; (iv) full access to navigation equipment and radios; (v) take and remove from the vessel reasonable samples for the purposes of scientific investigation and other relevant information; (vi) take photographs of the fishing operations, including fish, fishing gear, equipment, charts and records, and remove from the vessel such photographs or film as he or she may have taken or used on board the vessel; (vii) send or receive messages by means of the vessel’s communications equipment; and (viii)gather any other information relating to fisheries in Fiji fisheries waters or other areas as may be authorised by licence or authorisation; (c) carry out the observers’ duties safely; and (d) disembark at such time and place as may be determined by the Permanent Secretary or in accordance with an access agreement. (3) The operator shall provide the observer, while on board the vessel, at no expense to the State with food, accommodation, safety equipment and medical facilities equivalent to officers or such reasonable standard as may be acceptable to the Permanent Secretary. (4) In addition to the requirements in subsection (2), the Permanent Secretary may require the operator to pay in full the following costs of the authorised observer—(a) travel costs to and from the vessel; (b) such salary as may be notified by the Permanent Secretary, being the full amount of such salary; and (c)f ull insurance coverage. (5) Any operator and master of any vessel with a valid licence or authorisation issued in accordance with this Act shall allow and assist any observer to have full access to any place within Fiji or elsewhere where fish taken in Fiji fisheries waters is unloaded or transhipped, to remove samples and to gather any information relating to fisheries in Fiji fisheries waters. (6) Any observer who performs duties in areas beyond Fiji fisheries waters in accordance with this Act, any international agreement, fisheries management agreement or international conservation and management measures, shall, unless the contrary is provided, continue to be subject to all provisions of this Act, and all responsibilities and duties of operators, crew members or other relevant persons to such observer or port samplers, under this Act shall be applicable.

Any observer designated under this section, who does any act under this Act, or omits to do any act required by this Act, shall not be under any civil or criminal liability as a result of that act or omission on the ground of want of jurisdiction or mistake of law or fact, or any other ground, unless he or she has not acted, or omitted to act, in good faith.

(1) The operator, master, crew member of any fishing vessel, driver of any vehicle or pilot and crew of any aircraft shall immediately comply with every instruction or direction given by an authorised officer or observer and facilitate safe boarding, entry, exit and inspection of the vessel, vehicle or aircraft and any fishing gear, equipment, records, fish and fish products. (2) The operator, master, and each crew member of a vessel, driver of a vehicle and pilot and crew of an aircraft shall ensure the safety of an authorised officer or observer as appropriate in the performance of his duties. (3) Any person who contravenes subsections (1) or (2), or—(a)assaults, obstructs, resists, delays, refuses boarding to, intimidates or otherwise interferes with an authorised officer or observer in the performance of his duties; (b) incites or encourages any other person to assault, resist or obstructs any authorised officer or observer while in the execution of his powers or duties, or any person lawfully acting under the officer’s orders or in his or her aid; (c) uses threatening language or behaves in a threatening or insulting manner or uses abusive language or insulting gestures towards any authorised officer or observer while in the execution of his powers or duties, or any person lawfully acting under an authorised officer’s orders or in his or her aid; (d) fails to comply with the lawful requirements or any authorised officer or observer; (e) furnishes to any authorised officer or observer any particulars which are false or misleading in any material respect; (f) impersonates or falsely represents himself or herself to be an authorised officer or observer, or who falsely represents himself or herself to be a person lawfully acting under an authorised officer’s orders or in his or her aid; (g) resists lawful arrest for any act prohibited by this Act; or (h) is in breach of any other duty to an authorised officer or observer under this Act, commits an offense. (4) For the purpose of subsection (3), any person who does not allow any authorised officer, or any person acting under his or her orders or in his or her aid, or an observer to exercise any of the powers conferred on such person by this Act shall be deemed to be obstructing that officer or person. (5) A violation of subsection (3) shall constitute a serious violation. (6) Any person who, being a master, owner, charterer, agent, or a company established under the laws of Fiji which owns, partly owns or controls a fishing vessel which transports an authorised officer or observer outside the Fiji fisheries waters and causes him or her to disembark outside the jurisdiction of Fiji, shall be liable for all costs of repatriation including board and lodging while out of Fiji and direct transportation to Fiji. (7) Subject to subsection (5), any person who commits an offense against this section shall be liable on conviction to a fine not less than $20,000 and not more than $50,000.

An authorised officer or observer when exercising any of the powers conferred on him or her by this Act shall on request produce identification to show he or she is an authorised officer or observer.

(1) Where an observer is in waters under the jurisdiction of another State, that observer must be duly recognised or authorised to exercise observer functions in those waters prior to exercising the functions of an observer under section 69 of the Decree. (2) An observer exercising functions in waters under the jurisdiction of another State shall comply with the laws of that State and applicable standards for the conduct of observers under an agreement to which Fiji is a party. (3) The operator, master, and each crew member of any fishing vessel, the driver of any vehicle and the pilot and crew of any aircraft shall comply with the obligations towards an observer prescribed in sections 70 and 72 of the Decree and shall not- (a) access or attempt to access the equipment, journal or documents of an observer on board the vessel; or (b) damage, destroy or attempt to damage or destroy the equipment, journal or documents of an observer. (4) AnobserverexercisingfUllctionswithinFijifisherieswatersorbeyondsuchwaters shall comply with his or her obligations set out in Schedule 10. (5) Any person- (a) who contravenes sub-regulation (3); and (b) who while acting as an observer contravenes suo-regulation (2), commits an offense.