Saving Seafood

Observer Waiver Expires for Southeast, Gulf of Mexico Fisheries

May 7, 2020 — The National Marine Fisheries Service notified permit holders and the public Tuesday that a waiver for observer coverage in some fisheries expired at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, May 4, 2020. As of 12 a.m. Tuesday, May 5, observer coverage was reinstated for those fisheries.

Those permitted fisheries include:

  • South Atlantic Penaeid Shrimp;
  • South Atlantic Rock Shrimp;
  • South Atlantic Snapper-Grouper;
  • Southeast Gillnet;
  • Gulf of Mexico Commercial Reef Fish;
  • Gulf of Mexico Shrimp;
  • Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Pelagic Longline
  • Shark Bottom Longline (Atlantic HMS); and
  • Shark Gillnet (Atlantic HMS)

Read the full story at Seafood News

MARTY SCANLON: Observer waiver expires, increasing risk to longline fleet

May 6, 2020 — The following is a letter to Randy Blankenship, NOAA’s Southeast Branch chief of the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Management Division.

I certainly hope all is well. I would think that our federal government is still operating under the Social Distancing Guidelines that our country is under till May 15. With this being said, I am extremely disappointed to be taking calls from my membership that our pelagic longline industry’s observer waiver has not been extended.

Aside from the inherent danger of traveling from all over the country, the inability to practice social distancing within the confines of our small pelagic longline vessels puts both our crews and observers at increased risk.

We have an observer program that operates at a high standard of safety and at-sea risk criteria. I would think the danger of covid-19 to any observer through improper social distancing is far greater than if a vessel’s flares were to expire in the middle of the trip.

NMFS not extending the observer waiver to our pelagic longline industry is a blatant disregard for the wellbeing of our individual captains, their crews, our observers, as well as the families they would be returning to. The Blue Water Fishermen’s Association and its membership will be holding the agency as well as observer program responsible for any negative results of this blatant disregard of the president’s social distancing guidelines.

Read the full opinion piece at National Fisherman

NOAA again extends waiver to allow fishing without monitors

May 5, 2020 — The federal government is extending its suspension of the requirement for at-sea monitors in some East Coast fisheries until at least the middle of the month.

Some fishing boats are required to carry workers on board who collect data about commercial fishing. They are called observers or at-sea monitors, and the data they gather helps inform federal management of fisheries.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said its waiving the requirement in some Northeast fisheries until May 16. The agency waived the requirement to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Bangor Daily News

NOAA to allow boats to fish without monitors into May

April 21, 2020 — The federal government is extending its suspension of the requirement for at-sea monitors in some East Coast fisheries until May.

Some fishing boats are required to carry workers on board who collect data about commercial fishing. They’re called observers or at-sea monitors, and the data they gather helps inform federal management of fisheries.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said its waiving the requirement in some Northeast fisheries until May 2. The agency waived the requirement to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

Announcement: Northeast Observer Waiver Extended through May 2

April 20, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Consistent with the agency’s emergency rule on observer waivers during the COVID-19 pandemic and under the authority granted to the Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator at 50 CFR Part 648.11(c), NOAA Fisheries is extending the waiver granted to vessels with Greater Atlantic Region fishing permits to carry human observers or at-sea monitors for an additional two weeks, through May 2, 2020.

NOAA Fisheries will continue to monitor and evaluate this situation. As we have done in other parts of the country, we will use this time to work with the observer service providers to implement adjustments to the logistics of deploying observers, ensuring qualified observers or at-sea monitors are available as soon as safely possible.

Observers and at-sea monitors are an essential component of commercial fishing operations and provide critical information that is necessary to keep fisheries open and to provide sustainable seafood to our nation during this time. We will continue to monitor all local public health notifications, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for updates. We are committed to protecting the public health and ensuring the safety of fishermen, observers, and others, while fulfilling our mission to maintain our nation’s seafood supply and conserving marine life.

As RFMOs waive observer requirements, NGOs caution against permanence

April 16, 2020 — As fisheries councils in the U.S. and abroad begin relaxing observer requirements in order to meet safety needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple NGOs have issued a joint statement cautioning against those relaxed requirements becoming permanent.

The letter comes as the National Marine Fisheries Service announced that it is suspending West Coast observer coverage, in response to a recommendation made by the Pacific Fishery Management Council. The council suggested in a letter to the NMFS that the waiver could “match the duration of ‘shelter-at-home’ or similar orders by the governors of Washington, Oregon, and/or California.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NMFS Waives West Coast Fishery Observer Requirements

April 15, 2020 — The following notice was released by NOAA. Earlier today, the PFMC recommended suspending West Coast observer coverage. In March, NOAA suspended observer requirements in the Northeast.

As part of our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and consistent with the authority provided under the Emergency Rule signed on March 24, 2020 (Available at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/noaa-fisheries-issues-emergency-action-waive-observer- coverage-case-case-basis), NOAA Fisheries is temporarily waiving the requirement for commercial fishing vessels and first receivers in west coast fisheries to carry a fishery observer or have a catch monitor. The waiver will be in effect beginning on April 16, 2020 for 14 calendar days. This waiver applies to the following requirements:

  • Have 100-percent shoreside and at-sea coverage for vessels and first receivers participating in the Pacific Coast Groundfish Trawl Rationalization Program (50 CFR 660.140(h)(1)(i) and (i)(1), §660.150(j)(1)(i), and §660.160(g)(1)(i);
  • Carry a federal observer if selected in the Pacific Coast Groundfish limited entry fixed gear and open access fisheries (§660.216(a) and §660.316(a)), including California halibut and Oregon pink shrimp fisheries;
  • Carry a federal observer if selected in the Highly Migratory Species (HMS) fisheries (§660.719(a) and (d)); and,
  • Carry an observer as a term and condition of an Exempted Fishing Permits (EFP) issued pursuant to 50 CFR 600.745(b), except for the Deep-Set Shortline EFP for HMS.

This waiver does not apply to trips that are currently underway at sea with an observer onboard or to electronic monitoring (EM) requirements. For vessels using electronic monitoring, this waiver applies to human observers only.

This action is consistent with the Emergency Rule authority to grant waivers for observer requirements under certain circumstances. NOAA Fisheries is granting this limited duration waiver for observer coverage for vessels and processors in west coast fleets based on new social control guidance issued by west coast observer and catch monitor providers. West coast observer and catch monitor service providers (Alaskan Observers Inc., Saltwater Inc. Techsea International Inc., Frank Orth and Associates, and Tenera Environmental) have notified us that they intend to immediately implement policies to address health and safety concerns of the fishing industry and observers associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Providers intend to implement a policy instituting a 1-to-1 ratio of observers and catch monitors with vessels and plants, and 14-day self-isolation of observers/catch monitors before starting their deployment with their assigned vessel/plant. Providers have requested that NOAA Fisheries temporarily waive coverage requirements in west coast fleets to allow observers/catch monitors time to complete the 14-day self-isolation. I have determined that this situation meets the criteria for a waiver under the Emergency Rule criteria and warrants a temporary waiver for all west coast fleets to allow observers/catch monitors to complete the 14-day self-isolation period before deploying.

From April 16 – April 30, 2020, vessel owners or operators must still notify the applicable observer program before taking a trip and otherwise comply with applicable regulatory and other requirements. NOAA Fisheries will waive the observer coverage requirement for those trips that are randomly selected for observer coverage.

Industry self-reporting of protected species interactions/take is still required.

  • Regulations governing the recordkeeping and reporting of the incidental take of marine mammals are set forth in 50 CFR part 229.
  • Regulations governing the recordkeeping, reporting, and disposal of eulachon, green sturgeon, seabirds, marine mammals, and sea turtles in groundfish landings are set forth at 50 CFR 660.140(g).
  • Boat captains are responsible for reporting to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Law Enforcement by the vessel operator within 72 hours of taking an albatross by phoning 360-753-7764 (WA); 503-682-6131 (OR); or 916-414-6660 (CA).

NEXT STEPS

During this waiver period, NOAA Fisheries will evaluate the impact of this observer coverage waiver on the conservation and management of the affected fishery resources and may make adjustments to the fishery and catch accounting system in the future.

The West Coast Regional Office and the Northwest Fisheries Science Center will evaluate the impacts of this waiver on our fisheries and observer programs throughout this period as follows:

  • Monitor fishing activity in comparison to when observers have been deployed, to track continued compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
  • Evaluate weekly observer/catch monitor availability, ability to travel, and level of fishing effort and landings.
  • Monitor for changes in current health and safety guidelines that we expect would increase observer/catch monitor availability.

Following this initial 14-day waiver, on May 1, 2020, we do not intend to renew the blanket waiver for all fleets. After the end of the waiver period, providers’ social control guidance will likely result in some shortage of observers/catch monitors to meet the coverage needs of all fleets because observers/catch monitors typically serve multiple vessels and plants. However, we anticipate having sufficient observers/catch monitors to maintain the current level of observer coverage in most fleets. We intend to use the Emergency Rule authority to waive individual trips and vessels in lower priority fleets on a case-by-case basis to ensure qualified observers/catch monitors are available for higher priority fleets (i.e., fleets with 100% coverage requirements or bycatch of ESA-listed species).

Observers and catch monitors are an essential component of commercial fishing operations and provide critical information that is necessary to keep fisheries open and to provide sustainable seafood to our nation during this time. We will continue to monitor all local public health notifications, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for updates. We are committed to protecting the public health and ensuring the safety of fishermen, observers, and others, while fulfilling our mission to maintain our nation’s seafood supply and conserving marine life.

For additional information, please contact Ryan Wulff, Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries at (916) 930-3733 or ryan.wulff@noaa.gov.

West Coast Industry Frustrated with NMFS’ Inaction to Waive Observers

April 15, 2020 — The West Coast groundfish fleet has been pushing for relief from onboard fishery observers and shoreside catch monitors due to the coronavirus, but NMFS’ message to the fleet: No.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council met via webinar last week and one of the major points of contention was observers on fishing vessels in this era of COVID-19 that includes stay at home and social distancing orders.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Council may delay vote on at-sea monitor levels

April 13, 2020 — The final agenda for the New England Fishery Management Council’s webinar-only meeting Tuesday and Wednesday has several items of significant interest to local groundfishermen.

On Tuesday, the council will hear a recommendation from its Executive Committee that it postpone final action on the contentious groundfish Amendment 23 to set at-sea monitoring levels because of the impact of the spread of the novel coronavirus and COVID-19. That council had anticipated taking final action at its June meeting.

“While it is possible that restrictions on public gatherings may be lifted and in-person meetings may be allowed by late May, it is not unreasonable to expect interested parties can devote their attention to commenting on this amendment over the next two-three months,” Council Chairman John Quinn wrote in a memo to council members.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Fishing fleets say NOAA observers are too risky amid pandemic

April 10, 2020 — Fishing fleets in the U.S. are taking a gamble during this public health crisis by pursuing their catch despite swooning customer demand, a hazy future and the risk crew members could contract the coronavirus.

While commercial fishermen are checking temperatures, wearing gloves and self-isolating, they are looking to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to step in and waive a federal requirement to carry independent observers on trips to sea. They say the agency has been slow to react, instead issuing a patchwork of waivers.

To gather scientific data, track species and keep watch on the industry, NOAA manages an observer program — a network of specialists who climb aboard ships and document what they see and hear.

But as the virus and COVID-19, the disease it causes, upend daily life in the U.S. and abroad, people in the industry say they are worried about continuing to place potentially infected observers on ships in close proximity with crew members, who already operate in tight quarters.

“It’s virtually impossible to maintain six-foot separation,” said Mike Conroy, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, headquartered in San Francisco. Deckhands often work shoulder-to-shoulder to haul in their catch, eat in tight galleys and rest bunked a few feet apart. “You can’t really sleep in different spots.”

Read the full story at Roll Call