Saving Seafood

Senators Markey, Warren Question NOAA’s Lack of Consistency When it Comes to Northeast Observer Cove

August 21, 2020 — Senators Edward J. Markey and Elizabeth Warren are adding their names to the list of politicians questioning NOAA over their decision to reinstate at-sea monitors and observer coverage in the Northeast.

Observers and at-sea monitors for those in the Northeast were reinstated this past Friday, August 14. The requirement to carry observers on board had been waived for months due to health and safety concerns surrounding the coronavirus. However, NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Chris Oliver announced last month that the waiver would be lifted because “observers create no more risk than crew members.”

Read the full story at Seafood News

Multiple Groups, Politicians Call on NOAA to Continue Waiver of At-Sea Observers

August 18, 2020 — At-sea observers in the Northeast were reinstated by NOAA on August 14— but multiple groups and politicians are urging the government agency to reconsider their decision.

Observer coverage has been waived for months due to health concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic. However, NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Chris Oliver announced late last month that observer coverage in the Northeast would resume on August 14.

Read the full story at Seafood News

After months of exemptions and tensions with regulators, New England fishermen must resume taking observers to sea

August 17, 2020 — Commercial fishermen have long had their gripes about the government-trained observers required by regulators to monitor their catch.

When the pandemic began sweeping across the nation in March, federal officials halted their work, which involves long hours at sea, often in close quarters with fishermen. But with many captains and deckhands still hauling in their prey, observers resumed their duties in early May in nearly every major port around the country — except those in the Northeast.

The region’s mighty fleet has since received seven exemptions from observer requirements, which the federal government subsidizes at an annual cost of more than $50 million to prevent overfishing.

Now, with observers resuming their work this weekend in ports from North Carolina to Maine, fishermen and their representatives are urging the agency to halt the program again, saying it could have an adverse impact on an industry that lands about $2 billion worth of seafood a year.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe

SEAN HORGAN: Watching the watchers

August 4, 2020 — Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: NOAA Fisheries, persisting in an increasingly bad optic and potentially dangerous policy, last week said it will begin redeploying at-sea monitors aboard Northeast groundfish vessels on Aug. 14 despite the continuing national surge of the COVID-19 pandemic. It extends the previous waiver period by two weeks.

“NOAA Fisheries has been working with the regional observer and monitor providers to enact safety protocols that match those that are in effect for vessel operators and crew during this continually evolving situation,” NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Chris Oliver said in a statement announcing the extension.

Oliver said the agency has developed national criteria for vessels to be released from monitor and observer coverage on a trip-by-trip basis. Waivers may be granted if observers or at-sea monitors are not available for the trip or the observer providers “cannot meet the safety protocols imposed by a state on commercial fishing crew or by the vessel or vessel company on the crew.”

And now the lawyers weigh in: “Within our limited authority, our efforts are intended to ensure observers and monitors are following the same safety protocols that fishermen are following,” Oliver stated.

We’re sure that makes everybody feels way safer.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

NOAA Fisheries Identifies National-Level Observer Waiver Criteria; Will Begin Redeployment in Northeast

July 30, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA:

Providing seafood to the country remains an essential function even in these extraordinary times, and adequately monitoring United States fisheries remains an essential part of that process.

To improve transparency in our approach to observer deployment, we have established national-level criteria for vessels to be waived (released) from observer or at-sea monitor coverage. Going forward, observer or monitor coverage may be waived, for both full and partial-coverage fisheries, on a trip-specific basis if one of the following two criteria are met:

(1) Observers or at-sea monitors are not available for deployment; or

(2) The observer providers cannot meet the safety protocols imposed by a state on commercial fishing crew or by the vessel or vessel company on its crew. Within our limited authority, our efforts are intended to ensure observers and monitors are following the same safety protocols that fishermen are following.

We recognize that there are differences for observer and at-sea monitor deployment across fisheries, and have heard the concerns expressed about how observer coverage varies regionally, and even within regions. Given the diversity in our fisheries, from the composition of the fleets to how the fisheries are prosecuted, regional flexibility will continue in the detailed implementation of the two waiver criteria. We believe this adaptable approach will allow us to be transparent with stakeholders as well as responsive to ever-evolving changes on the ground. We also continue to encourage the use of electronic monitoring, as appropriate, as an additional option.

On August 14, we will resume deployment of observers and at-sea monitors in the Northeast partial-coverage fisheries. We are maintaining existing observer and monitor, both at-sea and shoreside, coverage throughout our other regions. Vessels should continue to seek observer and monitor coverage waivers through their regular regional process.

NOAA Fisheries has been working with the regional observer and monitor providers to enact safety protocols that match those that are in effect for vessel operators and crew, during this continually evolving situation. The contractual relationships between industry, NOAA Fisheries, and observer providers vary by region and sometimes within a region.

Observers and monitors, at-sea and shoreside, 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, for updates. We are committed to the health and safety of fishermen, observers, and others while fulfilling our mission to maintain our nation’s seafood supply and conserving marine life.

Chris Oliver
NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator

Read the announcement here

New reports detail threat to Pacific tuna observers, including from COVID-19

July 27, 2020 — The non-governmental organization Human Rights At Sea earlier this month published a report with numerous recommendations to better protect fisheries observers who monitor fish catches by tuna vessels in the Pacific.

The report, Fisheries Observer Deaths at Sea, Human Rights and the Role and Responsibilities of Fisheries Organisations, highlights “the often challenging and solitary working conditions for observers who are away at sea without any immediate physical support,” according to the group – a registered charity in England and Wales that promotes the development and enforcement of human rights at sea.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Massachusetts Lawmakers Pen Letter to NOAA Over Observer Waivers

July 24, 2020 — The following is an excerpt from a letter addressed to NOAA Administrators from Massachusetts Legislators. Lawmakers in Massachusetts have requested the extending of At-Sea Monitoring Waivers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dear Under Secretary Jacobs, Mr. Oliver, Mr. Pentony, and Dr. Hare:

Thank you for extending the waiver for the requirement of At-Sea Monitoring (ASM) in the Northeast groundfishery through July 31, 2020. This action was critical to protecting the health and safety of the men and women in the Massachusetts commercial fishing industry,

While COVID-19 trends in the Northeast have been generally positive, many coastal areas continue to see cases rising, including Suffolk, Bristol, and Barnstable counties here in Massachusetts, all of Rhode Island, and Virginia Beach County, Virginia. As Senator Tarr’s June 30, 2020 letter to you, the commercial fishing industry remains among the most vulnerable to COVID-19 due to the inherent conditions of their working environment at sea. Furthermore, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have warned that this fall and winter will likely see a secondary outbreak of COVID-19.

Read the full letter here

MSC announces new research funding to improve fishery observer safety

July 23, 2020 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

New funding to support research into fishery observer safety and welfare, has been announced by the Marine Stewardship Council today. The global not-for-profit organisation – which sets an environmental standard for sustainable fishing – said it hoped to accelerate progress in safeguarding observers who carry out a vital role in protecting our oceans.

The move follows the first death of an observer on a vessel fishing for MSC certified catch in the Western Central Pacific. The shocking and tragic death of Eritara Aati Kaierua on board the Win Far 636 in the Pacific in March 2020, is still under police investigation in Tarawa, Kiribati but there have been persistent reports of the dangers facing observers globally. 

Observers play a vital role ensuring the monitoring, compliance and surveillance of commercial fishing activities. Mandated by fishery management organisations, their work focuses on collecting data to enable effective regulation of marine activity. However, according to the Association of Professional Observers, the isolated and sometimes contentious nature of their jobs can lead to attempts at bribery, intimidation and violence.

MSC does not require fisheries to work with observers as a part of its certification requirements – but in practice many fisheries rely on observers to collect the essential evidence needed for sustainable fisheries management – especially in remote parts of the world.

MSC wholly condemns any violence or intimidation of observers. As part of its contribution to the collective efforts of the industry, human rights NGOs, governments and regulators to improve observer safety, MSC is allocating £100,000 of funding for projects and initiatives aimed at improving observer safety at sea.

The funds will be deployed through its Ocean Stewardship Fund in the next round which opens for applications in September 2020. This tranche of funding will also support initiatives focussed on the use of electronic monitoring and other technologies designed to support observers and deliver assurance of fishing operations.

The MSC action comes as there is a growing focus on this area, including campaigns on observer safety by Greenpeace and the Association of Professional Observers as well as the publication of a recent report by the organisation Human Rights at Sea.

The Chief Executive of MSC, Rupert Howes, said:

“The MSC’s mission is to end the global crisis in overfishing. This is an enormous and complex challenge, supported by the extraordinary hard work and efforts of many people – including observers.

Governments, law enforcement agencies and regulatory authorities must do more to ensure observer safety. But we recognise – as part of the wider sustainable seafood community – that MSC also has a part to play.  We want to do so in a way which is practical, by helping those who are already working in this field, pilot and test promising initiatives.

By working collaboratively with others, we believe we can help protect the human rights of observers and support them to carry out their vital work safeguarding our oceans.”

NMFS Doubles Down on Observers; Rep. Huffman Takes Aim at NMFS on COVID-19 Impacts

July 20, 2020 — A California Congressman and National Marine Fisheries Service leaders released statements about pandemic-related issues and COVID-19’s effects on fisheries Thursday, but from opposite perspectives.

Following industry criticism about maintaining at-sea observers and shoreside catch monitors during a pandemic, the agency has allowed observer waivers in some areas but remained steadfast in keeping observer coverage in others. The risk of contagion is too great, fishermen and processors say, but NMFS has disagreed — at least, in some areas.

Read the full story at Seafood News

DeFazio Urges NOAA to Reinstate Observer Waiver for West Coast Seafood Industry

July 7, 2020 — Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., last week sent a letter to NOAA Fisheries, blasting its decision to reinstate the waiver for observer and catch monitor requirements for the Greater Atlantic Region without reinstating it for the West Coast Region.

“I am appalled that NOAA Fisheries seems to believe that those in the Pacific Coast fishing industry deserve less protection from COVID-19 than their New England counterparts,” DeFazio said in a press release. “The pandemic is far from over, and the economic and health risk of having additional personnel on board fishing vessels during this public health crisis outweighs the limited and temporary loss of data from waiving the observer requirements. I urge NOAA to reverse this wrong-headed decision and work to put proper preventative measures in place in the West Coast region to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”

Read the full story at Seafood News