January 2015
Practice Group:
Maritime
Administration’s Proposed Seafood Traceability
Program Could Impose New Requirements on U.S.
Fishing and Seafood Industries
By Timothy Hobbs, Darrell L. Conner, Andrew J. Newhart
Domestic fish harvesters and seafood producers could face new federal mandates under a
seafood traceability program being developed by the Obama Administration. Last month, the
Administration announced the Recommendations of the Presidential Task Force on
Combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and Seafood Fraud.
President Obama charged the Task Force earlier this year to provide these
recommendations because IUU fishing and seafood fraud cause billions of dollars of
economic losses each year, harm U.S. producers and consumers, and jeopardize valuable
food resources. The Task Force’s recommendations are now open for public comment
through January 20, 2015.
While many of the proposed measures are aimed at international issues, some would have
direct impacts on U.S. seafood harvesters and producers. In particular, Recommendation 14
would require the Task Force to “identify and develop within six months a list of the types of
information and operational standards needed for an effective seafood traceability program.”
This traceability program would apply to both “domestic and imported products.” Examples
of information the government would collect include the name of the harvesting vessel,
fishing gear used, fish species name, form and quantity of product, and location and date of
both harvest and offload.
Under the Task Force’s recommendations, collecting such information and complying with
related operational standards eventually would apply “to all seafood at first point of sale or
import” and be “pre-requisites for entry into commerce.” One ultimate goal is to make
“certain types of information within the traceability system…available to the consumer,” such
as fish species name, geographic origin, means of production, and fishing gear type.
These recommendations could help U.S. harvesters and producers compete against unfair
competition from illegally caught and fraudulently labeled seafood. Indeed, some U.S.
seafood producers are already adopting their own traceability programs for similar reasons
and to better market their products. If not implemented properly, however, the federal
program now under development could impose burdensome new mandates on the domestic
industry and potentially interfere with the industry’s own traceability programs.
The Task Force recognizes that the new measures should be developed “with input from
U.S. industry and other stakeholders.” Domestic fish harvesters and seafood producers
should consider commenting on these recommendations and engaging with the Task Force
as these new operational standards and information collections are being developed.
In addition to establishing a seafood traceability system, the remaining recommendations of
the Task Force fall under three other categories:
Administration’s Proposed Seafood Traceability Program Could Impose New
Requirements on U.S. Fishing and Seafood Industries
• International: Work with international governments, regional organizations, and others to
combat IUU fishing and seafood fraud at the international level.
o
Work with the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to use existing and future Free
Trade Agreements to combat IUU fishing and seafood fraud with our trading partners.
o
Direct the USTR to pursue international commitments to eliminate excess fishing and
overfishing by 2020.
• Enforcement: Strengthen enforcement tools to combat IUU fishing and seafood fraud.
o
Work with Congress to broaden agency enforcement capabilities to search, inspect,
and seize illegal seafood entering U.S. commerce throughout the supply chain
(including domestic and foreign sources) and pursue judicial enforcement options for
trafficking and other violations.
• Partnerships: Create and expand partnerships with U.S. state and local governments,
industry, and non-governmental organizations to identify and eliminate fraud.
o
Work with state and local governments, industry, and non-governmental organizations
to increase support, coordination, and information sharing across agencies to prevent
illegal seafood from entering the United States.
Comments on the recommendations received from the public will be used to help the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration develop an implementation plan that
should be released in early 2015.
Comments may be submitted through January 20, 2015, either online or by mail:
• Online: Go to: www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAANMFS-2014-0090, click the
“Comment Now!” icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
• By mail: Submit written comments to Carrie Selberg, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver
Spring, MD 20910.
More information is available here: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ia/iuu/taskforce.html
Authors:
Timothy Hobbs
tim.hobbs@klgates.com
+1. 206.370.7664
Darrell L. Conner
darrell.conner@klgates.com
+1. 202.661.6220
Andrew J. Newhart
andrew.newhart@klgates.com
+1. 202.778.9384
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Administration’s Proposed Seafood Traceability Program Could Impose New
Requirements on U.S. Fishing and Seafood Industries
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