March 10, 2022 — Fewer Chinese fishing vessels are entering North Korean territorial waters, a reversal from years of increases.
In July 2020, a study using data provided by Global Fishing Watch found at least 700 vessels of Chinese origin had fished illegally in North Korean waters in 2018, and that more than 900 had done so in 2017.
Read the full story at SeafoodSource
March 3, 2022 — NOAA Fisheries has submitted a report to Congress on the development of a priority list of species for consideration under the Seafood Import Monitoring Program. SIMP is a screening and deterrent tool to identify and deter illegal, unreported, and unregulated fish and fish products and misrepresented seafood from entering the U.S. market. It uses risk-based criteria to target the species most vulnerable to IUU fishing and seafood fraud. This complements the multiple tools the U.S. government uses to combat this issue.
The report evaluated the inclusion of the current species in SIMP and considered whether additional species should be included. The program’s current risk-based criteria targets the species most vulnerable to fishing and seafood fraud, and additional criteria as outlined by Congress.
“SIMP has been in effect for all 13 species and species groups, which comprise approximately 1,100 unique species, for about 3 years,” said Alexa Cole, director of NOAA Fisheries Office of International Affairs, Trade and Commerce. “We are committed to its ongoing development and enhancement, both programmatic and regulatory, as part of NOAA’s comprehensive approach to combating IUU fishing and seafood fraud.”
Among the findings in the report, the agency will consider expanding several SIMP species to create larger species groups. This would address concerns that species misrepresentation may be occurring in order to circumvent reporting requirements.
February 28, 2022 — While the term “Wild West” may conjure up images of outlaws acting with impunity in faraway outposts, it’s an apt metaphor for what’s taking place on the high seas just outside our 200-mile exclusive economic zone and around the world.
Too much of the world’s seafood – including seafood imported into the U.S. – is caught using slave labor used onboard vessels operated by Chinese, Taiwanese, and other nations’ companies. Global Fishing Watch estimates the number of enslaved seafood workers as reaching well into the tens of thousands. From a humanitarian perspective alone, this is outrageous. From an ocean-conservation perspective, the effects are devastating. Slave labor is the leading cause of overfishing for the simple reason that when you use slave labor, you can afford to deploy thousands more fishing boats and replenish them at sea, keeping them working 365 days a year.
Read the full story at SeafoodSource
February 11, 2022 — The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office filed the first environmental complaint against Mexico Thursday for failing to protect the critically endangered vaquita marina, the world’s smallest porpoise.
The office said it had asked for “environment consultations” with Mexico, the first such case it has filed under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade pact. Consultations are the first step in the dispute resolution process under the trade agreement, which entered into force in 2020. If not resolved, it could eventually lead to trade sanctions.
Mexico’s government has largely abandoned attempts to enforce a fishing-free zone around an area where the last few vaquitas are believed to live. Nets set illegally for another fish, the totoaba, drown vaquitas.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said that “USTR is committed to protecting the environment and is requesting this consultation to ensure Mexico lives up to its USMCA environment commitments,” adding “We look forward to working with Mexico to address these issues.”
February 9, 2022 — Along the U.S.-Mexico maritime border, the incursions occur almost daily. The boats are outfitted with small outboard motors, powerful enough to flee pursuing Border Patrol and Coast Guard vessels.
“These vessels … will be denied port access and services,” said Lauren Gaches, a spokesperson for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She said the sanction was being applied in response to Mexico’s “continued failure to combat unauthorized fishing activities by small hulled vessels in U.S. waters.” It took effect Monday.
February 3, 2022 — A report released by Oceana on Tuesday, 1 February, calls on the U.S. to expand the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP), saying that the federal legislation designed to prevent fraudulently labeled products and specimens harvested from illegal fishing practices from entering the country includes too many loopholes.
The 36-page report notes a report by the U.S. International Trade Commission found that of the seafood imported into the U.S. in 2019, USD 2.4 billion (EUR 2.13 billion) worth was fished illegally. Examples of illegal fishing include crews harvesting fish in unpermitted areas, exceeding catch limits, mislabeling products, and using forced labor.
Read the full story at SeafoodSource
January 18, 2022 — Starting in February, NOAA Fisheries will enact a ban prohibiting port access for all Mexican fishing boats that operate in the Gulf of Mexico.
The federal agency said in a statement that the move, which will become effective Monday, 7 February, comes as the U.S. issued a “negative certification” against its southern neighbor for illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in a report to Congress last August. American officials noted that they made the determination in 2019 after making similar determinations in 2015 and 2017.
Read the full story at SeafoodSource
January 14, 2022 — The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has released an action plan to combat human trafficking at home and abroad, an initiative that includes a focus on labor issues in the global seafood industry.
The U.S. Trade Representative National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking, released in December 2021, involves better coordination among American agencies as well as with other countries’ law enforcement bodies to track and prosecute human trafficking on fishing vessels and in onshore seafood processing facilities. Under the plan, the USTR will ramp up its efforts to encourage other countries to put in place bans on imports of goods made with forced labor.
December 8, 2021 — The nonprofit Planet Tracker has publicly named several large seafood companies it alleges are involved with illegal, unreported, or unregulated (IUU) fishing.
The report, “Do You IUU?” lists Seoul, South Korea-based Dongwon Industries Co., and Shenzen, China-headquartered Rongcheng Xinlong Aquatic Products Co. and CNFC Overseas Fisheries Company as having ties to IUU fishing, with vessels listed on the Combined IUU Fishing Vessel List – a consolidation of global IUU vessel lists established by the world’s regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs).
December 6, 2021 — The direct economic impacts of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing on the seafood industry are becoming better understood, as is the reputational risk that these practices cause for the entire seafood industry.
These impacts can be most harmful for developing nations struggling to manage their fisheries sustainably. According to the Stanford Center for Oceans, nearly one billion people worldwide rely on fish as their main source of protein.
Read the full story at SeafoodSource