May 28, 2025 — A NOAA Fisheries investigation resulted in a grocery store chain paying a $12,516 civil penalty this February. They surrendered more than 1,100 pounds of yellowfin tuna, with a declared value of $4,889. In June 2023, NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Law Enforcement, Virginia Conservation Police, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducted a joint inspection of a container shipment at CBP’s Centralized Examination Station (CES) in Chesapeake, VA. Officers discovered jarred yellowfin tuna. Experts from NOAA Fisheries Tuna Tracking and Verification Program determined that two shipments of jarred tuna contained tuna from a Nicaraguan purse seiner. Nicaragua is one of seven “primary nations” that may not import certain non-fresh tuna products into the United States as they do not meet the dolphin-safe requirements under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. We do not permit import of those shipments into the United States.
NOAA’s Office of General Counsel Enforcement Section issued the civil penalty, known as a Notification of Violation and Assessment, to the grocery store chain. NOAA Fisheries’ trade monitoring and enforcement efforts protect U.S. consumers and law abiding U.S. seafood companies by stopping illegally traded seafood products from entering the U.S. market.
Trade Enforcement Efforts
We conduct trade enforcement efforts nationwide. Agents and officers routinely inspect container shipments at major U.S. seaports, airports, and border crossings into the United States. Additionally, we investigate cases referred to us by state and federal enforcement partners for suspected violations discovered during their independent trade enforcement work.
Our agents and officers in the Northeast initiated 55 new trade enforcement cases to protect U.S. consumers and businesses from January 1–March 31, 2025. “I couldn’t be more proud of the tremendous effort our agents and officers dedicate to preventing illegal seafood products from entering our markets,” said James Cassin, acting assistant director, NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement, Northeast Division. “Leveling the playing field for U.S. fishermen and businesses is and has always been at the core of our mission.”
Trade Enforcement Prevents Illegal Imports
Seafood importers must pass through multiple layers of federal oversight to comply with U.S. and international seafood trade regulations. These include the seafood trade monitoring programs NOAA Fisheries administers. We established the national tuna program to ensure compliance with federal regulations regarding dolphin-safe certification. These regulations protect dolphin stocks vulnerable to purse seine fisheries in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Ensuring compliance with seafood import requirements is an important part of our efforts to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
You can reach the Northeast Office of Law Enforcement at (978) 281-9213 and select “option 2” for regulatory compliance.