US: NOAA considers including squid, salmon and other imported seafood in its regulatory plan in response to "forced labor"

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has unveiled a comprehensive action plan to broaden the scope of its 'Seafood Import Monitoring Program' (SIMP), with a focus on addressing issues surrounding forced labor and illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the global seafood supply chain. This initiative aims to extend SIMP's coverage to include high-risk species such as squid and salmon, strengthen traceability, and bolster controls against non-compliant seafood imports. The plan also aims to enhance data collection and collaboration with other departments to ensure compliance with labor standards and environmental regulations. Although the announcement has drawn mixed reactions from the seafood industry, it is seen as a significant step towards addressing the complex challenges of labor exploitation and IUU fishing in the seafood industry. The public comments on the updated rules are expected in 2025.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released an action plan on November 14, 2024, which plans to expand the coverage of the "Seafood Import Monitoring Program" (SIMP), focusing on high-risk species such as squid and salmon, and for the first time formally incorporating the issue of forced labor into the regulatory vision of the global seafood supply chain. The plan aims to address illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and other issues in the seafood supply chain. NOAA proposed to establish a two-level priority system to optimize the traceability process according to the risk level of the species, and to launch a pre-screening procedure to prevent non-compliant seafood from entering the U.S. market. .The new plan will also strengthen the collection of information such as transshipment records at sea and the duration of fishing trips. NOAA emphasized that long-term offshore operations and an environment lacking resource support may exacerbate ...