July 22, 2021 — An ongoing waiver of observer coverage for vessels in the U.S. Northeast has been terminated as COVID-19-related restrictions abate.
NOAA Fisheries initially released the observer waiver in June for vessels if an observer or monitor that is either fully vaccinated or has quarantined for the requisite amount of time is available. That waiver was put into place in March 2020 as COVID-19 became an increasing concern.