Photo courtesy of NOAA Fisheries
Seafood Industry Continues to Pressure NMFS on Observer Waivers Nationwide
Two industry groups this week sent letters to NMFS leadership and Congressional leaders, asking for observer waivers due to the coronavirus in regions other than New England. It's part of an ongoing push in an effort for fishermen and processors to keep their crews safe.
The Seafood Harvesters of America took the agency to task Monday, noting NMFS' inconsistent application of observer waivers in only some areas. And on the West Coast, the Midwater Trawlers Cooperative, Fishermen's Marketing Association, United Catcher Boats, Oregon Trawl Commission and West Coast Seafood Processing Association sent a letter to Chris Oliver, Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries, to formally request that NMFS take action to provide blanket observer and catch monitor waivers to trawl fishermen and shoreside seafood processors.
"We remain alarmed by the Agency's illogical approach to observer waivers--issuing waivers in some regions while enforcing observer mandates in others," the Harvesters wrote.
The letter pointed out that Councils around the country have raised concerns about human observers during this time, that other industry groups have made similar requests and that members of Congress have either written to NMFS or talked with NMFS leaders directly about the issue.
"Unfortunately, these concerns, fears and letters have been ignored or met with empty words from Agency staff," the Harvesters' letter said. "The Agency has failed to issue a thoughtful, reasonable response that justifies the glaring inequities in its issuance of observer waivers in only some regions, an action that very clearly risks lives, during this global pandemic."
Agency leaders continue to repeat the same standard lines to Congressmen, whether from New England, the East Coast or the West Coast: observers are necessary, they are part of the fishery, management of the country's fish stocks depends on the data observers collect.
Still, both the Seafood Harvesters and a group of West Coast seafood industry organizations propose solutions.
"It's time to think outside the box, to get creative and we stand ready to help," the Harvesters said. "We have boats with cameras and boats who want cameras and VMS--let's use this to our collective advantage."
Fishermen have proven both interested and capable of collecting biological data, the Harvesters noted. "Let's work together to find a path forward that does not involve risking lives for the sake of filling a data cell."
The Midwater Trawlers Cooperative and other groups propose NMFS implement a new emergency rule to mitigate harm to the West Coast groundfish trawl industry during the pandemic.
NMFS continues to rely on its emergency rule in May that lists three conditions under which blanket observer waivers could be made. But on the West Coast, pending one two-week waiver during which time observers were mandated to self-quarantine, no other blanket waivers have been issued.
"The Agency has taken an arbitrary approach to applying the May 29 emergency rule regarding observer waivers," the groups said in their letter sent Tuesday. "Some regions of the U.S. have had blanket waivers for months on end, while other have received little relief, even though the fishermen face the exact same health emergency. This discriminatory approach is further highlighted by NMFS' decisions to require their employees work from home, eliminate all field work, and then the cancellation of the majority of fisheries-independent surveys to protect the health and wellbeing of NMFS employees. The disproportionate protections provided to some humans and not others are not only unethical, but unjustified as well."
The groups also note the economic considerations that should be taken into account during the pandemic, both with regard to observers and potentially waiving the cost recovery fee for six months. Observer waivers would eliminate one high cost for both fishermen who have observers on their vessels and processors who must also pay for shoreside monitors. Suspending the cost recovery would help keep fishermen on the water and plants processing fish at this time, when demand has dropped off due to the pandemic.
"The West Coast trawl industry is counting on NMFS to follow through on their commitment to do everything they can to help the fishing industry weather this storm," the groups concluded. "This is a first step in the right direction."
Susan Chambers
SeafoodNews.com
1-541-297-2875
susanchambers@urnerbarry.com