US anti-IUU bill would expand SIMP to cover all imported seafood

Date: August 9, 2021

Source: SeaFoodSource

A recent committee meeting started the discussions on a bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-California) to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and slave labor in the seafood supply chain.

The bill, H.R. 3075, was covered during a recent meeting of the Water, Oceans, and Wildlife Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee. It would enact the expansion of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) to cover all seafood and seafood products – the program, initiated in 2016, originally included tuna, king crab, blue crab, red snapper, Pacific and Atlantic cod, dolphinfish, grouper, sea cucumber, swordfish, and sharks in its coverage requirements, with shrimp added in 2019.

Titled the “Illegal Fishing and Force Labor Prevention Act,” the new rule would both expand SIMP and require seafood importers to include additional data in their reporting – including location of catch and electronic reports of chain of custody – that would need to be submitted and verified by competent authorities at “all major transfer points in the supply chain.”

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