View Rule

NMFS is charged with conservation and management of federal fisheries under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA or Act). 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.  The Act provides authority to require that human observers be carried on fishing vessels and/or stationed at fish processing plants in order to collect biological and economic data from fisheries.  Coverage levels can either be full (each vessel must take an observer on every trip) or partial (percentage of fishing trips made by vessels in the fishery must take an observer). Regardless of coverage levels, it is unlawful to fail to comply with observer coverage requirements. Due to travel restrictions and safety measures adopted in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, NMFS recognized that it may not be logistically possible or safe to deploy observers. Likewise, measures taken in response to the Pandemic have impacted NMFS’ ability to fulfill requirements for training observers. Thus, NMFS issued an emergency regulation under section 305(c)(3)(B) of the MSA, 16 U.S.C. 1855(c)(3)(B), that authorized waiver of observer coverage and some training and other program requirements through September 23, 2020, and subsequently extended the effectiveness through March 26, 2021. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, NMFS intends to promulgate an interim final rule to extend the termination date of the Observer Waiver Rule for 364 days under section 305(c)(3)(C) of the MSA, with concurrence from the Secretary of Health and Human Services.