European fisheries observers on Portuguese and Spanish ships have been intimidated by crews, according to an investigation by the Guardian. There are independent observers on board every fishing vessel operating in the Northwest Atlantic Fishery Organisation, monitoring compliance with quotas for five months at a time. More than 20 current and former observers said they had been put under surveillance, deprived of sleep, had their official documentation stolen, and been threatened with being thrown overboard to hide overfishing. One observer said that crews would go through his cabin to check his figures, and others recall being told to back off because "accidents happen at sea." Training materials warn of common tactics to hide overfishing, including timing hauls to coincide with observer meal times. Observers also reported being offered money and other incentives to stay in their cabin during deployment or to fly home. Henrique Ramos, whose company runs the Portuguese observer program, said that he believes the problem is that observers feel isolated and disempowered and should get better backup from inspectors. A Spanish Fishing Association spokesman said that the reports were isolated incidents that did not represent the industry as a whole, and a European Commission spokesman said that it was aware of "shortcomings in the culture of compliance." For the full story, see http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/may/18/fishing-inspectors-intimidated-bribed-crews.