Saving Seafood

Southern Shrimp Alliance pushing US to add another company to Uyghur forced labor list

January 2, 2024 — The Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA) is asking the U.S. Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF) to add Rongcheng Sanyue Foodstuff to the U.S.’s Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act’s (UFLPA) entity list – a move which would effectively ban the import of any product from the company.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) added seafood to its list of priorities in the UFLPA in July 2024 – the first addition to the list of high-priority sectors since 2022. The addition signaled the DHS considers seafood as being at a higher risk of utilizing forced labor or state labor transfers of Uyghurs or other ethnic minorities from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

New Legislation Seeks to Amend Magnuson-Stevens Act, Address Economic Causes of Fishery Disasters

October 22, 2024 — Congresswoman Nancy Mace (SC-01) introduced the Protect American Fisheries Act of 2024, a law that found the support of various fishing organizations, including the Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA), along with bipartisan support.

According to a press release from Mace’s office, the bill would amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, adding economic causes as allowable grounds for declaring a fishery resource disaster.

“Foreign interference in U.S. fishery markets, particularly through illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, subsidized foreign fleets, forced and child labor, and dumping of contaminated seafood products, is devastating domestic industries.”

“Our domestic fisheries are under assault not only from illegal and subsidized foreign competition but also from bureaucratic red tape failing to protect American industries. The Protect American Fisheries Act takes a stand against these harmful practices and the inefficiencies in our system allowing them to persist. This legislation ensures we can cut through the red tape, defend the livelihoods of hardworking American fishermen, and strengthen our coastal economies by targeting illegal fishing, predatory pricing, and foreign market distortions,” said Mace.

Read the full article at Seafoodnews.com

US shrimpers call for investigation of uneven enforcement of import restrictions related to turtle-excluder device use

September 13, 2024 — Two trade groups representing U.S. shrimpers have requested the U.S. State Department more evenly enforce a rule prohibiting imports from countries that have not received certification they have required their wild-catch shrimp sectors to use of turtle-excluder devices.

The Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA) and the Port Arthur Area Shrimpers’ Association (PAASA) said the federal government’s Section 609 program, made law in 1989, requires the U.S. State Department and NOAA Fisheries to certify foreign countries or fisheries as being in compliance with domestic requirements on the usage of turtle-excluder devices (TEDs), which allow turtles to escape from shrimp-trawler nets. The certification makes them eligible to export wild-caught shrimp to the U.S. market.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Save Our Shrimpers Act introduced to safeguard US shrimping industry

April 11, 2024 — Today, in a bipartisan effort, Representative Troy Nehls (R-TX) and co-sponsors have introduced the Save Our Shrimpers Act (SOS Act), a piece of legislation aimed at safeguarding the U.S. shrimp industry. The bill seeks to prevent U.S. taxpayer funds from supporting shrimp-related activities in foreign countries through international financial institutions.

The proposed legislation arises from concerns raised by the Southern Shrimp Alliance(SSA), which last year published a research report titled A Crisis of Our Own Making. The report sheds light on the role played by international financial institutions, including the World Bank, in the expansion of excess shrimp aquaculture capacity worldwide. The report notes that U.S. taxpayers have unwittingly contributed billions of dollars to foreign shrimp aquaculture through these institutions.

The proposed SOS Act explicitly prohibits the use of U.S. taxpayer funds by international financial institutions for any activity related to shrimp farming, shrimp processing, or shrimp exports in foreign countries. The legislation also mandates an annual report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office(GAO).

According to U.S. shrimping associations, the consequences of unchecked shrimp aquaculture projects funded by international financial institutions have been severe for U.S. shrimpers. The bill notes that the encouragement of excess shrimp production has led to a surplus in world markets, including the U.S. This oversupply has significantly depressed prices received by U.S. shrimpers for their catch. According to the bill, shrimp imports to the U.S. have lost $1.5 billion in value since 2021, which the bill notes directly affects the livelihoods of shrimpers across eight states in the Gulf.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman 

Shrimp alliance calls for U.S. ban on forced-labor imports

January 30, 2024 — The Southern Shrimp Alliance asked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security this week to add eight seafood processors in China to a list of companies blocked from importing to the U.S. because of their use of forced labor.

In a Jan. 29 letter the SSA points to evidence that red shrimp caught off Argentina  is shipped to China, and processed in plants in Shandong province where members of China’s ethnic Uyghur work under forced labor conditions.

The shrimp alliance in particular cites reporting on Uyghur labor by the Outlaw Ocean Project, a nonprofit investigative journalism group founded by maritime reporter Ian Urbina.  

“The Outlaw Ocean Project recently documented that members of the Uyghur minority were forcibly moved out of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) to Shandong and coerced to work in seafood processing facilities, including shrimp,” according to a statement from the SSA.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Southern Shrimp Alliance calls for ban on shrimp entering US from eight Chinese companies

January 30, 2024 — The Southern Shrimp Alliance is calling on the U.S. government to increase its scrutiny of shrimp processed and shipped to the U.S. by Chinese exporters, and a complete ban on imports from multiple companies, after recent revelations regarding alleged uses of Uyghur and forced labor by The Outlaw Ocean Project.

On 29 January, the SSA sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force calling on the department to scrutinize shrimp sourced from China’s Shandong province. The Outlaw Ocean report found extensive evidence of forced labor being employed in Shandong’s seafood processing sector.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Southern Shrimp Alliance opposes foreign permit changes in SIMP expansion

May 2, 2023 — While largely supportive of NOAA Fisheries’ plan to expand the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP), the Southern Shrimp Alliance is opposed to a provision that would make it easier for foreign corporations to secure import permits.

The industry group wants NOAA to restrict International Fisheries Trade Permit (IFTP) to U.S. residents and increase enforcement, a move that could close loopholes that allow foreign corporations to import seafood without meeting traceability requirements.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

SSA wants NOAA to avoid promoting imports in its National Seafood Strategy

March 29, 2023 — The Southern Shrimp Alliance said it supports a NOAA’s National Seafood Strategy, which is designed to promote domestic seafood consumption – provided it doesn’t also promote foreign imports.

NOAA released its draft National Seafood Strategy on 14 February, focusing on NOAA Fisheries’ work on managing the country’s marine fisheries “based on sound science.” Most of the strategy includes details on how the administration will promote the financial viability of the industry, resilience of coastal communities, and the effects of international trade.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Southern Shrimp Alliance wants US to maintain tariffs on Chinese imports

July 5, 2022 — The Southern Shrimp Alliance has called on the U.S. government to continue a 25 percent tariff on Chinese seafood imports, saying the additional levy has helped domestic producers “compete on a more-level playing field.”

The trade organization made its stance known in a Thursday, 30 June letter to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai. Four years ago, former U.S. President Donald Trump implemented Section 301 tariffs on an array of Chinese goods in response to that country’s policies regarding intellectual property and technology transfer. The U.S. government is currently conducting a two-phase review of the action, with Tuesday, 5 July the cutoff date for comments.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource