Want to make a difference? Commercial fishing dates back hundreds of years. Today commercial fishing continues to be possible due to cooperation between fishermen and fisheries management scientists. In order to facilitate that cooperation, fisheries observers collect data pertaining to fishing operations, economics, catch data, and fishing effort. Collected data is used to document fish stock information which is then used for fisheries management and to preserve future generations of fish/fishermen. Commit to the journey! Click to Learn More about Becoming a Fisheries Observer Responsibilities: Work at sea collecting and recording data and biological samples for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) aboard commercial fishing vessels. Observers work on the decks of vessels ra