April 8, 2020 — On March 27th, NOAA Fisheries published an Emergency Rule regarding the circumstances by which observer coverage would be waived.
In the opinion of a number of our Saving Seafood coalition members, the emergency rule does not provide sufficient protections to ensure the health and safety of the captains and crew of commercial fishing vessels.
The conditions proposed for the waivers leave an opportunity for continued observer coverage. Many of our members feel at this time a permanent waiver should be granted for 90 days. State and Federal entities have made it perfectly clear that serious precautions should be taken to control the spread of this virus.
Given the inherent nature of the fishing industry, close quarters on fishing vessels and the potential spread of the virus to entire crews, and their families, many of our members believe the cost is too great.
Please use the Federal Register notice to submit comments and share your personal experience and concerns.
In addition, the emergency rule indicates that some of the observer training and requirements may be waived to make sure there is sufficient personnel available to act as observers.
We encourage industry members to provide your own thoughts on that topic, as you have all had your own experience with the observers.