Saving Seafood

Seafood Traceability Rule to Remain in Place, Says Court

June 28, 2017 — As reported previously on this blog, concerns about illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) seafood fraud, led to a proposed rule to establish a traceability program for certain seafood species. The final rule establishing the Seafood Import Monitoring Program was published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Department of Commerce, in the December 9, 2016 Federal Register.

The Program established permitting, data reporting and recordkeeping requirements for the importation of certain priority fish and fish products—including abalone, several types of cod and tuna, red snapper, shrimp and swordfish—that were identified as being especially vulnerable to seafood fraud. The rule requires seafood importers to trace the origin of the fish they import to either the specific boat that caught the full fish or a “single collection point,” to the day the fish was caught, and to the sector of the specific ocean where the fish was caught.

On January 6, 2017, the National Fisheries Institute, Alfa International Seafood, Inc. and others filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging what they called a “Midnight Final Rule.” In the suit, the plaintiffs questioned whether the Department of Commerce cut corners by, among other things, refusing to disclose for public comment the data that it relied on to identify the seafood species subject to the rule and by allowing “a low-level bureaucrat to issue a binding final rule absent a valid delegation of authority from the Secretary.”

In a June 22, 2017 ruling, Judge Amit P. Mehta did not overturn the final rule establishing the Seafood Import Monitoring Program. Rather, Judge Mehta wrote: “The proper course at this juncture—just months before the rule goes into effect—is to defer ruling on Plaintiffs’ broader challenge to the agency’s authority to engage in rule-making and, instead, afford the federal defendants an opportunity to submit a signed statement from a principal officer within the Department of Commerce that ratifies the rule.”

Read the full story at The National Law Review

Whole Foods’ New Canned Tuna Policy: Only Pole-and-Line, Troll, or Handline Caught Tuna By 2018

March 20, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — By January 2018, all canned tuna sold at Whole Foods Market must come from fisheries using only pole-and-line, troll, or handline catch methods, all of which take fish one by one, preventing bycatch and creating more jobs in coastal communities.

Whole Foods Market is the first national retailer to create such stringent standards for canned tuna, which is among the three most consumed seafood items in the United States.

The policy’s aim is to reduce overfishing and bycatch, and support fishing communities. The new sourcing policy includes canned tuna items sold in the grocery aisle as well as the prepared foods department.

Whole Food’s new canned tuna policy requires that the fisheries be certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council or rated green or yellow by the Monterey Bay Aquarium and The Safina Center.

Every supplier must also use Trace Register, traceability software that tracks each lot of tuna at every point from vessel to can. The traceability data are continuously crosschecked to help verify sourcing and prevent illegally caught or unauthorized fish from entering the supply chain.

“We created this new policy for canned tuna because we want to lead by example in sourcing only the highest quality, sustainably caught tuna,” said Carrie Brownstein, global seafood quality standards coordinator for Whole Foods Market.

“Combined with better international fishery management, overfishing and bycatch can be greatly reduced when tuna is caught by these low-impact fishing methods. We are honored to be working with suppliers and partners who are driving positive change.”

Leading brands that already source canned tuna from one-by-one fisheries, including 365 Everyday Value®, American Tuna, Pole and Line, Henry and Lisa’s, and Wild Planet, are updating their operations to meet the policy’s traceability requirements. These measures will also help importers get ahead of the traceability provisions in NOAA’s Seafood Import Monitoring Program, which has a deadline for mandatory compliance by Jan. 1, 2018.

Over the coming months, remaining suppliers will shift their operations and fishing practices to use the approved one-by-one catch methods, which are more environmentally friendly and offer more employment opportunities for fishermen worldwide.

“Since America is the largest canned tuna market in the world, shifts toward greater sustainability in this category can create a meaningful, positive impact on our oceans and our global fishing communities,” said Adam Baske, director of policy and outreach for International Pole and Line Foundation. “In some cases, these one-by-one fisheries are one of very few sources of local employment. The boats also make relatively short trips, enabling crews to return home frequently, compared to large industrial tuna vessels that may spend multiple months or even years at sea.”

Whole Foods Market’s new canned tuna policy expands on the retailer’s existing sustainability standards for fresh and frozen seafood, which also require that all seafood must either be certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council or rated green or yellow by the Monterey Bay Aquarium and The Safina Center. Additionally, all of the retailer’s farmed seafood must meet its industry-leading aquaculture standards, which include third-party on-site audits.

In 2016, Whole Foods Market introduced the retailer’s first Fair Trade certified yellowfin tuna, a designation which ensures better wages and working conditions for fishermen, and provides additional funding to their communities for improvement projects and investments. Fair Trade certification also verifies full supply chain traceability.

These continual advancements in policies and sourcing are part of Whole Foods Market’s mission to create a model that moves the seafood industry toward greater sustainability.

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission. 

Wilbur Ross: Make America first on seafood

February 28, 2017 — Wilbur Ross is expected to emerge as the Trump administration’s leading voice on trade after the Senate votes tonight to confirm him as Commerce Department secretary. He’s already singled out a surprising pet project: Reducing America’s reliance on seafood imports.

“Given the enormity of our coastlines, given the enormity of our freshwater, I would like to try to figure out how we can become much more self-sufficient in fishing and perhaps even a net exporter,” the 79-year-old billionaire businessman said at his confirmation hearing in January.

That would be a big job for anyone, since 85 percent, or some $20 billion, of seafood consumed in the U.S. comes from abroad. America is the second-largest seafood market after the 28-nation European Union, and the U.S. seafood industry runs an $11 billion trade deficit.

One action Ross could take to curb the amount of seafood the U.S. imports each year is to follow through on the Seafood Import Monitoring Program, which the Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration established during the waning days of the Obama administration. That regulation, supported by environmental groups like Oceana, is aimed at reducing billions of dollars in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing each year by creating a traceability program to track imported seafood from point of harvest to point of entry in the U.S. Pros, Doug Palmer dives into Ross’ fishing expedition here.

Read the full story at Politico

Canadian seafood industry braces for new U.S. traceability rules

February 2, 2017 — Canadian seafood producers will need to “raise their game” to satisfy new American seafood traceability rules, according to federal Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc.

The Seafood Import Monitoring Program was one of the final acts of the Obama administration.

It will require much more detailed information about catches before they are allowed into the United States.

“We need to raise our game to ensure that the Americans receive the evidence they require that our fisheries are compliant, as they are,” LeBlanc said.

Read the full story at CBC News

US issuing new rules to curb illegal fishing, seafood fraud

January 3, 2017 — PORTLAND, Maine — The Obama administration is issuing new rules it says will crack down on illegal fishing and seafood fraud by preventing unverifiable fish products from entering the U.S. market.

The new protections are called the Seafood Import Monitoring Program, and they are designed to stop illegally fished and intentionally misidentified seafood from getting into stores and restaurants by way of imported fish.

The rules will require seafood importers to report information and maintain records about the harvest and chain of custody of fish, officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

The program will start by focusing on “priority species” that are especially vulnerable to illegal fishing, such as popular food fish like tuna, swordfish, Atlantic cod and grouper. The government hopes eventually to broaden the program out to include all fish species, NOAA officials said.

“It sends an important message to the international seafood community that if you are open and transparent about the seafood you catch and sell across the supply chain, then the U.S. markets are open for your business,” said Catherine Novelli, a State Department undersecretary.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Seattle Times

The Feds Are Finally Doing Something About America’s Serious Seafood Fraud Problem

December 19, 2016 — Chances are you’ve rarely stopped to think about the origin and authenticity of the tuna, salmon, or unagi lining your sushi roll before breaking out the chopsticks. But for those occupying the surprisingly shady world of international seafood trade, this information is essential in determining the value, quality, and legality of the protein piled in your poke bowl.

For years, lax laws on fish imports have allowed many illegally fished and fraudulently labeled species to slip through the cracks and make their way into consumers’ California rolls. However, this week, the Obama administration announced new regulations in an effort to crack down on fishy industry behavior—pun intended.

In recent months, the administration faced added pressure to fortify seafood regulations by the nonprofit ocean advocates Oceana, after the organization issued a report revealing that one in five seafood samples in the world are fraudulent or mislabeled on some or all levels of the supply chain, from import to packaging to retail.

The new rules, which will go into effect on January 1, 2018, will require detailed tracking information to be kept on a number of priority species, from initial harvest to entry into US commerce, in hopes of maintaining a clear log of the source and history of any given fish. These species, which have been identified as the most likely to be passed off fraudulently, include a variety of tunas, sharks, Atlantic cod, and swordfish.

To implement these additional oversights, the Department of Commerce will create the Seafood Import Monitoring Program, a governmental body tasked with keeping a keen eye out for any illegally obtained or mislabeled products. While the economic implications of stricter regulations are still unclear, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that the current global economic impact of illegal and fraudulent fishing every year is easily in the billions.

In a statement from senior campaign director Beth Lowell, Oceana lauds the new regulations, calling the announcement “a groundbreaking step towards more transparency and traceability in the seafood supply chain.” Lowell notes that “For the first time ever, some imported seafood will now be held to the same standards as domestically caught fish, helping to level the playing field for American fishermen and reducing the risk facing US consumers.”

Read the full story at VICE

The White House Just Made It Easier To Know The Fish You’re Eating Is Actually Fish

December 9, 2016 — The Obama administration took a massive step in the fight against seafood fraud and illegal fishing on Thursday, introducing a rule that will help Americans know the fish they’re eating is truly what they paid for.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will oversee the Seafood Import Monitoring Program, which will require about 25 percent of imported seafood to be traced from the boat or farm it comes from to the U.S. border. The rule is meant to curb the mislabeling of fish before it enters the U.S. (about 90 percent of fish we consume is imported) and cut down on overfishing. Businesses will have until the beginning of 2018 to comply.

“Today’s announcement is a groundbreaking step towards more transparency and traceability in the seafood supply chain,”said Beth Lowell, a senior campaign director for the environmental group Oceana, in a statement. “For the first time ever, some imported seafood will now be held to the same standards as domestically caught fish, helping to level the playing field for American fishermen and reducing the risk facing U.S. consumers.”

Read the full story at the Huffington Post

Obama finalizes stricter monitoring of seafood imports

December 9th, 2016 — The administration U.S. President Barack Obama has announced the implementation of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program to qualified enthusiasm from environmental groups.

The fruits of the Presidential Task Force on Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and Seafood Fraud, authorized by Obama in June 2014, the program will require “at-risk” seafood that is imported into the United States to be tracked to its source and properly labeled.

Studies by ocean conservation watchdog Oceana found that around one-third of market and restaurant seafood products were mislabeled, while the organization estimates that up to one-third of the wild-caught seafood being imported into the United States is the result of IUU fishing.

Oceana’s senior campaign director Beth Lowell released a statement today saying the program should help protect U.S. fisherman from being undermined by illegally caught imports.

“For the first time ever, some imported seafood will now be held to the same standards as domestically caught fish, helping to level the playing field for American fishermen and reducing the risk facing U.S. consumers,” Lowell’s statement said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source