Saving Seafood

NOAA to Consider Expanding Species Included in the Seafood Import Monitoring Program

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.

Read the release from NOAA

 

US House passes COMPETES Act with SIMP expansion, Graves does not vote

February 4, 2022 — The U.S. House of Representatives passed the American COMPETES Act on Friday, 4 February on a near party-line vote.

The USD 350 billion (EUR 305.6 billion) spending bill tackles supply chain and trade issues included several fishing provisions from other bills – including the expansion of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) to cover all species that enter American ports.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

Oceana report calls for SIMP to cover all species, tougher US stance against IUU fishing

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

 

Congress Should Remove Burdensome Seafood Provisions from America COMPETES Act, Write 55 Saving Seafood Coalition Members

February 2, 2022 — Today, 55 members of the Saving Seafood Coalition added their names in opposition to seafood import monitoring provisions in H.R. 4521, the America COMPETES Act, that would impose “a blizzard of paperwork and insurmountable compliance burdens on processors, distributors, restaurants, and grocery stores.”

Earlier this week, a diverse group of thirteen seafood organizations representing fisheries from across the nation wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asking that these provisions be removed from the bill.

The provisions, Sections 70101 to 70131, would expand the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) to include all seafood species regardless of risk of illegal fishing, and extend it down the entireS supply chain. These sections draw heavily from H.R. 3075, portions of which were opposed by nearly 120 commercial seafood industry stakeholders in a letter last September.

The letter points to testimony from Janet Coit, NOAA’s Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, in its opposition to SIMP expansion. In a hearing last July, Ms. Coit testified, “The current risk-based approach to SIMP allows NOAA to target our existing resources on those fish and fish products most likely to come from IUU [illegal, unreported, and unregulated] fishing.” Proposed changes to SIMP “would require NOAA to shift resources and reprioritize activities,” Ms. Coit said.

H.R. 3075 has not been considered by the numerous committees of jurisdiction in the House and is not ready for inclusion in a legislative package being prepared for a vote by the entire House of Representatives, the letter states.

“We strongly urge you to remove Sections 70101 to 70131 from H.R. 4521 and enable their consideration through regular order,” the Saving Seafood Coalition members wrote.

The letter was delivered to Speaker Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

More than 100 scientists call on Congress to end illegal fishing, human rights abuses in seafood supply chain

December 13, 2021 — More than 100 scientists on Monday called for federal action on illegal fishing, fraud and human rights abuses in the seafood industry.

In a letter to Congress, scientists called on representatives to end harmful practices along the seafood supply chain, including illegal, unreported and unregulated — or IUU — fishing and abuses like forced labor and human trafficking.

Human rights abuses and IUU fishing typically go hand in hand, scientists write, because unsustainable fishing practices push vessels further out to sea for longer periods of time, meaning some fishing companies rely on forced or underpaid labor to turn a profit.

“The interconnected issues of IUU fishing and human rights violations demand the United States take action to ensure that only safe, legally caught, responsibly sourced, and honestly labeled seafood is imported into our domestic market. The human rights abuses prevalent in the seafood sector make it clear that the United States needs to build in labor protections for those working at every stage in the seafood supply chain,” the letter’s authors write.

Read the full story at The Hill

 

Amended IUU fishing bill approved by House committee would expand SIMP

October 18, 2021 — A U.S. congressional committee has passed an amended bill that seeks to prevent more seafood produced through illegal practices from entering the country – in part by expanding the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP).

The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday, 13 October, voted to advance the Illegal Fishing and Forced Labor Prevention Act, legislation sponsored by U.S. Reps. Jared Huffman (D-California) and Garret Graves (R-Louisiana).

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

 

US anti-IUU bill would expand SIMP to cover all imported seafood

August 9, 2021 — A recent committee meeting started the discussions on a bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-California) to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and slave labor in the seafood supply chain.

The bill, H.R. 3075, was covered during a recent meeting of the Water, Oceans, and Wildlife Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee. It would enact the expansion of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) to cover all seafood and seafood products – the program, initiated in 2016, originally included tuna, king crab, blue crab, red snapper, Pacific and Atlantic cod, dolphinfish, grouper, sea cucumber, swordfish, and sharks in its coverage requirements, with shrimp added in 2019.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NOAA Fisheries seeks predictive analytics and dedicated staff for SIMP

May 25, 2021 — NOAA Fisheries has published a report on the implementation of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) and detailed how the initiative to deter illegal and unregulated seafood products from entering the country can be fine-tuned in the years ahead.

Among the possibilities is the use of predictive analytics, which other government agencies have used to fight fraud. The report states that giving authorities that technology will help it better identify shipments for inspections or audits.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

National Fisheries Institute Statement on NOAA’s Report on Implementation of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program

May 21, 2021 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute:

The National Fisheries Institute opposes any illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.  We appreciate NOAA’s focus on ridding the globe of pirate fishing.  We are pleased that today’s report on the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) highlights the fact that, “the majority of SIMP audits do not identify noncompliance,” and that of non-conformances “only a small number rise to the level that they warrant enforcement action.” NFI looks forward to working with NOAA to improve any information discrepancies found in entry filings.

We note that NOAA’s report clearly states, “SIMP does not prevent or stop IUU fish and fish products from entering U.S. commerce.”

In fact, NOAA highlights that, “most of the issues that have been found relate to issues apparent from the documents themselves (e.g., vessel permit dates do not match harvest dates, documents are missing).”

In the report NOAA Fisheries emphasizes it remains “focused on maintaining the risk-based nature of SIMP.”  Calls for expanding SIMP to all species undercut this focus on risk.

The seafood community estimates it has spent over $50 million on SIMP regulatory and paperwork compliance for just the 13 species covered by the program, a burden on an industry working to feed Americans during a time of recovery.  SIMP expansion would impose hundreds of millions of dollars of annual expense for a program that “does not prevent or stop IUU fish and fish products from entering U.S. commerce.”

Congressmen file bill to combat IUU fishing, increase SIMP enforcement

May 12, 2021 —  Two U.S. congressmen have filed legislation that would expand the role of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) to include all species, including shrimp.

U.S. Representatives Jared Huffman (D-California) and Garret Graves (R-Louisiana) unveiled the Illegal Fishing and Forced Labor Prevention Act on Tuesday, 11 May. The purpose of the legislation is to better connect illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing to forced labor practices in the seafood trade, and to bolster the effectiveness of SIMP.

Read the full story at Seafood Source