Rep. Huffman Calls for Expanded Seafood Import Monitoring

March 28, 2023

Washington, D.C. – Representative Jared Huffman (CA-02), Ranking Member of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries, Natural Resource Ranking Member Raúl Grijalva (AZ-07), and Representative Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) led a letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) commenting on the shortcomings of their recent proposed rulemaking to expand and update the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) and advocating for SIMP expansion to all species.

“The United States is the world’s largest seafood-importing country, and as such, we have both the purchasing power and the responsibility to combat IUU fishing and human rights abuses in the fishing industry. It’s time to improve our existing programs by making SIMP as comprehensive and effective as possible. The limited scope of the current proposed rule may prevent NOAA from addressing several key outstanding issues. A supplemental proposed rule with a stronger interagency and public review process is a step in the right direction,” the members said in their letter.

SIMP currently only requires catch documentation and traceability for approximately 45% of seafood imports. The proposed expansion  would only increase SIMP’s coverage by 5 to 10 percent, leaving nearly half of seafood imports without sufficient import controls. The proposed rule also fails to form any kind of integrated approach to address forced labor along with IUU fishing, despite their close correlation. Finally, the proposed rule also demonstrates a clear lack of transparency both in the rulemaking process and in the lack of interagency coordination and review. Other agencies such as the Department of Labor, U.S. Customs, and the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force should have been given the opportunity to weigh in on this proposed rule. A supplemental proposed rule is necessary for addressing these gaps.

The letter is also signed by Representatives Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Ed Case (HI-01) Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Donald Davis (NC-01), and Jill Tokuda (HI-02).

Supporters of the letter include Ocean Conservancy, Oceana, and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

A copy of the letter can be found here.