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.