iuu – Fishermens News

Chefs Urge Greater Transparency, Traceability in Seafood Industry

31Jan

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Chefs Urge Greater Transparency, Traceability in Seafood Industry

Pressure from the marine environmental community for greater transparency and traceability in the seafood industry is increasing, with a letter to President Joe Biden urging the federal government to expand the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP). The current program, requiring catch documentation and traceability for some seafood species at risk of illegal fishing, applies to 13 species and species groups, covering less than half of all U.S. seafood imports. The letter, signed by more than 100 chefs nationwide, urges Biden to expand SIMP to include all species of seafood, requiring importers to report additional catch data, and to include labor conditions in reporting requirements. This program would prevent a “bait and switch” in seafood supply chains, they said, as wel...

Congressmen Call for Action in Human Rights Abuses in Seafood Supply Chain

25Oct

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Congressmen Call for Action in Human Rights Abuses in Seafood Supply Chain

Two members of the U.S. House of Representatives are calling for federal action in response to investigative reports in The New Yorker magazine documenting human rights abuses in the seafood supply chain in the People’s Republic of China’s fishing fleet and seafood processing centers. Raul M. Grijalva, D-Ariz. and Jared Huffman, D- Calif., voiced their concerns Oct. 20 via letters to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Their letters referenced reports in The New Yorker that Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities in the People’s Republic of China are being forced to work throughout the seafood supply chain. They urged Customs and Border Protection officials to use their au...

Coast Guard Establishes IUU Fishing, Environmental Response Centers in Hawaii

25Oct

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Coast Guard Establishes IUU Fishing, Environmental Response Centers in Hawaii

Two new marine environmental response units were established in Hawaii earlier this month, via ceremonies for the Marine Environmental Response Regional Activities Center (MER RAC) and Illegal Unreported Unregulated Fisheries Center of Expertise (IUUF COE). The Coast Guard said in an Oct. 23 announcement that Vice Adm. Andrew Tiongson, commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area and Rear Adm. Jo-Ann Burdian, Assistant Commandant for Response Policy, presided over the ceremonies on Fort Island, Hawaii, on Oct. 11. The intent, according to the Guard, is to encourage sustained, long-term engagement with partner nations within the Indo-Pacific. “These new detachments, strategically positioned here in Hawaii will fulfill exactly what the Indo-Pacific Strategy directs.” Tiongson said in a s...

NOAA Report Cites IUU, Forced Labor, Shark Catch Issues

6Sep

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NOAA Report Cites IUU, Forced Labor, Shark Catch Issues

NOAA’s 2023 Report to Congress on Improving International Fisheries Management identifies seven nations and entities engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU), including incidents involving force labor and targeted or incidental shark catches. The report, released Aug. 31, said the U.S. will work with identified parties to address IUU issues and forced labor activities and support effective management of protected species and shark catch. “IUU fishing and other unsustainable fishing practices undermine U.S. and global efforts to sustainably manage fisheries and conserve marine resources,” Janet Coit, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries, said. “Combating these practices is a top priority of the United States, and we’ll work with each identified nation and ent...

Study Tracks Shifting Identities of Global Fishing Fleet

25Jan

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Study Tracks Shifting Identities of Global Fishing Fleet

A new international research study has tracked 35,000 commercial fishing and support vessels, identifying their changing of country registration and also identified hotspots of potential unauthorized fishing and activity of foreign owned vessels. Changing the country of origin is a practice also known as “reflagging.” The study, “Tracking Elusive and Shifting Identities of the Global Fishing Fleet,” was published Jan. 18 in Science Advances, the open access multidisciplinary journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Participants in the project were researchers from Global Fishing Watch, the Maine Geospatial Ecology lab at Duke University and the Stockholm Resilience Centre. The study found that close to 20% of high seas fishing is done by vessels that are eit...

NOAA Fisheries Announces Proposed Rule to Expand Seafood Import Monitoring

4Jan

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NOAA Fisheries Announces Proposed Rule to Expand Seafood Import Monitoring

NOAA Fisheries has announced a proposed rule that would expand the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP), a risk-based program for targeted species of seafood imported into the United States. SIMP currently includes reporting and recordkeeping requirements for nearly half of all seafood imported, in order to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and misrepresented seafood from entering US commerce. SIMP would provide a screening and deterrent tool for IUU fish and fish products and misrepresented seafood products seeking entry into domestic markets. The rule proposes to expand the species currently subject to SIMP, including red snapper and tuna, to include all species in the snapper family and additional tunas, to minimize the risk of mislabeling and product sub...

Canada Completes 2022 IUU Enforcement in North Pacific

9Nov

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Canada Completes 2022 IUU Enforcement in North Pacific

Canadian fisheries officials, collaborating with the United States, South Korea and Japan, have completed their 2022 efforts in Operation North Pacific Guard, an international law enforcement operation on the high seas of the North Pacific Ocean. December marks the 30th anniversary of the United Nations ban of high seas driftnets, which are identified by Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Canada as a threat to Canadian migratory fish stocks such as Pacific salmon. and all living marine species. The DFO said in a report issued in early November that Canada flew 29 patrols over 247 hours, covering a total of 44,200 nautical miles as part of Operation North Pacific Guard. They discovered incidents of sharks being caught and kept and garbage pollution, as well as a large number of ships with impro...

FISH Act Legislation Would Blacklist Vessels, Owners Guilty of IUU Offenses

31Aug

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FISH Act Legislation Would Blacklist Vessels, Owners Guilty of IUU Offenses

Federal legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate would blacklist vessels engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing from entering U.S. ports and waters. The Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvest (FISH) Act would bolster U.S. Coast Guard enforcement capabilities and advance international and bilateral negotiations to reach enforceable agreements and treaties, according to Senators Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., who introduced the bill on Aug. 25. The FISH Act would direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish a blacklist of foreign vessels and owners who have engaged in IUU fishing, direct the Coast Guard to boost its at-sea inspection of foreign vessels suspected of IUU fishing, and coordinate with regional...

NOAA Promoting New Steps to Combat IUU Fishing

29Jun

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NOAA Promoting New Steps to Combat IUU Fishing

NOAA is proposing new measures to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities and forced labor in the seafood supply chain. The proposed changes are part of a rulemaking process that will include a public comment period after these proposed changes are published in the Federal Register. NOAA’s proposal broadens the scope of activities that can be considered under the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act when identifying nations for IUU fishing, including pervasive and persistent fishing activities in waters under the jurisdiction of a nation, without authorization or in violation of that nation’s laws. In addition, fishing activities in waters beyond any national jurisdiction that involve the use of forced labor may be considered by NOAA...

Biden Administration Urged to Send Clear Message Opposing IUU Fishing, Forced Labor

8Jun

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Biden Administration Urged to Send Clear Message Opposing IUU Fishing, Forced Labor

In advance of the U.N. Ocean Conference and in recognition of World Oceans Month, Congressmen Jared Huffman, D-CA and Garret Graves, R-LA, are calling on the Biden Administration to make clear that the U.S. is addressing illegal fishing and forced labor issues. Both congressmen are strong advocates for combatting IUU fishing, which impacts the health of oceans, human rights and the competitiveness of American fisheries. Earlier this year, major parts of Huffman’s bill with Graves, “The Illegal Fishing and Forced Labor Prevention Act,” passed the House as part of the America COMPETES Act. The bill aims to combat IUU fishing and human rights abuses in the seafood supply chain and make America more competitive in the global seafood market. In March, a bipartisan amendment led by ...