A federal plan to confront illegal, unreported and
unregulated fisheries, including effective seafood traceability, was announced
March 15 at Seafood Expo in Boston by US Deputy Secretary of Commerce Bruce
Andrews.
Among the 15 recommendations in the presidential task
force’s 40-page plan on combating IUU fishing and seafood fraud is one
directing the task force to establish, within 18 months, the first phase of a
risk-based traceability program to track seafood from point of harvest to entry
into commerce in the United States.
Creating an integrated program that better facilitates data
collection, sharing and analysis among relevant regulators and enforcement
authorities would be a significant step forward in addressing IUU fishing and
seafood fraud, the task force said. The plan is for the federal government to
work with states, industry, and other stakeholders to develop and implement
this program, consistent with US international legal obligations, including US
obligations under the World Trade Organization agreement.
The program is to be initially applied to seafood products
of particular concern because the species at issue are subject to significant
seafood fraud or because they are at significant risk of being caught by IUU
fishing.
The overall plan calls for a great deal of cooperative
effort between federal, state and local governments, and foreign entities,
including a recommendation to exchange relevant information and to encourage
foreign customs administrations to cooperate in combatting IUU fishing and
seafood fraud.
The final rule on these and other recommendations is to be
issued by August 2016, in order for it to be effective by September 2016.
Details on the task force recommendations are posted online
at www.nmfs.noaa.gov