March 20, 2013—Gloucester, Mass. The Northeast Seafood Coalition (NSC) is pleased to endorse the “Safety and Fraud Enforcement for Seafood Act,” otherwise known as the “SAFE Seafood Act,” which seeks to protect the American seafood industry and consumers by making the supply chain more transparent and trustworthy.
American consumers expect to know how and where their seafood was produced, if it is safe to eat, and if it is in fact the species they intended to purchase. The SAFE Seafood Act substantially advances transparency and tractability by utilizing information and data that is already collected by American fishermen, such as species name, catch location, and harvest method.
With over 90 percent of seafood consumed in the United States imported and just 2 percent inspected, it is very easy for cheap, illegal imports to displace American fishermen’s products with inferior and mislabeled products. Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly difficult to regain market shares with American caught, responsibly harvested seafood.
“We especially appreciate the focus on imported seafood and provisions to combat the astonishing array of fraudulent schemes used to evade U.S. food safety and labeling laws that do great harm to both U.S. fishermen and consumers alike,” according to NSC executive director Jackie Odell.
NSC is grateful to Congressman Markey and the original cosponsors of the Safety and Fraud Enforcement for Seafood Act including Congressman Walter Jones, Congressman John Tierney, Congressman Bill Keating, Congresswoman Lois Capps and Congressman Jo Bonner.
Read the full release from the Northeast Seafood Coalition here