June 28, 2023 — The following was released by the White House:
One year ago, on June 27th, 2022, President Biden signed the historic National Security Memorandum on Combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing and Associated Labor Abuses (NSM-11).
Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is providing a status update on actions taken under National Security Memorandum-11 to address the problem of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, including by distant water fishing vessels; protect ocean ecosystems; safeguard seafood supply chains; and combat forced labor abuses within the seafood industry.
NSM-11’s first year implementation has been strengthened by action through and coordination with the U.S. Interagency Working Group on IUU Fishing established pursuant to section 3551 of the Maritime Security and Fisheries Enforcement (SAFE) Act (16 U.S.C. 8031), and chaired by the Department of State, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in collaboration with 21 other member agencies.
- The U.S. Interagency Working Group on IUU Fishing released the first National Five-Year Strategy for Combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing on October 19, 2022. The Strategy details U.S. priorities and plans to combat IUU fishing, curtail trade in seafood and seafood products derived from IUU fishing, and promote global maritime security. The Strategy lists five priority flag states and administrations (Ecuador, Panama, Senegal, Taiwan, and Vietnam) in regions where the Working Group will focus its work with partners on combating IUU fishing and related threats. Together with other governments and authorities, the seafood industry, academia, philanthropies, and nongovernmental stakeholders, the United States aims to use this strategy to make tangible progress in addressing IUU fishing and to execute a shared global vision for sustainable stewardship of marine resources.
- The U.S. Interagency Working Group on IUU Fishing created a new interagency task group on identifying and countering criminal networks and enterprises that support IUU fishing. This task group will identify examples and recommendations for how agencies can use unique authorities and programs to better identify and target the individuals and entities behind many types of IUU fishing, using insight from the tools counter-narcotics and counter-wildlife trafficking communities have adopted in their work.
- NOAA, State and DOL co-chair the U.S. Interagency Working Group on IUU Fishing sub-working group on Labor, taking action to understand the gaps in enforcement authorities to counter labor abuses, and to coordinate technical assistance in fishing across the interagency, while supporting standing reporting requirements.
IUU fishing can be associated with forced labor, a form of human trafficking, and other crimes and human rights abuses. These abuses undermine the livelihoods and human rights of fishers globally, alongside U.S. economic competitiveness, national security, and fishery sustainability. Actions under NSM-11 to address forced labor in the seafood industry include:
- Sanctioning perpetrators of IUU fishing and serious human rights abuse: On December 9, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned two individuals, Li Zhenyu and Xinrong Zhuo, and the networks of entities they control, including Dalian Ocean Fishing Co., Ltd. and Pingtan Marine Enterprise, Ltd. along with eight other affiliated entities. Additionally, this action identified 157 People’s Republic of China (PRC) flagged fishing vessels in which these entities have an interest. These actions were taken pursuant to Executive Order 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world. The designation of Pingtan Marine Enterprise was the first time Treasury has designated an entity listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. The action demonstrates the U.S. government’s ongoing effort to impose tangible and significant consequences on those engaged in serious human rights abuse, including on those vessels engaged in IUU fishing.
- Establishing the Collaborative Accelerator for Lawful Maritime Conditions in Seafood (CALM-CS). Developed, established and chaired by NOAA, with participation from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Department of Labor (DOL), U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), the U.S. Department of State (State), and representatives from all relevant sectors—workers, harvesters, processors, retailers, brokers, non-governmental organizations, and think tanks—this public-private partnership promotes legal and safe working conditions throughout the fishing and seafood industry. CALM-CS working groups are each co-chaired by one representative from the U.S. government and one from an external sector, helping to give workers a voice, support at-risk populations at sea, promote standards and due diligence, identify illegal labor practices, and enhance safety and labor conditions aboard U.S. vessels.
- DOL’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) has published research and created tools to raise public awareness of forced labor and child labor in seafood supply chains.
- DOL’s List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor includes coverage of forced labor and child labor in seafood supply chains, as required under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2005 and subsequent reauthorizations.
- The Sweat and Toil App presents information on seafood and other products made with forced labor or child labor in an accessible, user-friendly format.
- The Better Trade Tool provides data on goods imported into the United States which are at risk of being produced with forced or child labor.
- DOL’s Comply Chain tool helps companies undertake effective due diligence to identify, address and mitigate child and forced labor in their global supply chains. The tool is broadly applicable to all global supply chains, and includes several seafood case studies.
- DOL has also published a fishing fact sheet on strengthening labor conditions and promoting good jobs in the fishing sector.
- DOL frequently engaged with fishers’ unions and industry, sharing tools to protect fishers from labor exploitation, including the union campaign for Wi-Fi aboard vessels, at venues such as the Seafood Expo North America, Seafood Expo Global, the Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions Annual Meeting, and the Global Migration Film Festival.