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.
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