June 23, 2020 — Yesterday, NOAA Fisheries announced that vessels in the Greater Atlantic region will once again be required to carry fishery observers and at-sea monitors beginning July 1. The agency had previously waived the requirements since the start of the COVID-19 crisis in March.

While the agency, in its letter to stakeholders, stated that “Observers and at-sea monitors are an essential component of commercial fishing operations,” the decision was opposed by Fishery Management Councils in the region. In its own letter to NOAA Fisheries, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) called on the agency “to extend the observer coverage waiver until the number of active COVID-19 cases in the region has been substantially reduced and the number of new cases is steadily declining.”

“Although some states are beginning to slowly reopen, social distancing protocols are still almost universally recommended or required. However, the close living quarters on most fishing vessels would make social distancing virtually impossible,” the Council’s letter states. “Recognizing that the virus could spread rapidly within these environments, many fishing crews have been self-quarantining before fishing trips. Unless observers are subject to mandatory 14-day quarantine periods between assignments, we are concerned that they could unknowingly become vectors for transmission of the virus between fishing vessels.”

In addition to expressing concern over the safety of reallowing observers on fishing vessels, the Council also noted that the resumption of onboard observers and monitors goes against the telework policies implemented by both the Council and NOAA during the ongoing COVID-19 related shutdown.

“It is our understanding that NOAA, like the Council, continues to operate under a maximum telework policy. Also, we believe that NOAA staff such as Northeast Fisheries Science Center employees are currently prohibited from participating in on-board cooperative research,” the letter stated. “During our June Council Meeting, which was conducted entirely by webinar, we discussed plans for how and when to resume in-person meetings. The Council was generally in agreement that at this time the public health risks outweigh the benefits of face-to-face meetings and that we should continue to utilize virtual meetings for the near term. Considering these steps that have been taken to minimize health risks for fishery scientists and managers, why should the same consideration not be extended to the fishing industry?”

At its meeting today, the New England Fishery Management Council approved a motion “to task Council staff to write a letter expressing the Council’s concern regarding the redeployment of the observer program on July 1.” The motion was agreed to by consensus with 3 abstentions.

Read NOAA’s announcement here

Read the Council’s letter here