March 15, 2015 — The United States is a world leader in fisheries management, with a demonstrated commitment to robust and transparent marine stewardship based on science. We are also one of the largest seafood-consuming countries — and, with a significant majority of that seafood imported, we have a strong interest in ensuring that our successes at home are mirrored around the globe.
IUU fishing is a worldwide problem. It occurs when fishers break the rules, when they do not report their catches accurately, or when they undermine international measures that are in place to conserve our shared fisheries resources. Law-abiding fishers lose billions of dollars each year due to these activities. IUU fishing vessels also serve as vectors fueling other dangerous criminal activities, including human trafficking. The United States has long used effective tools to manage its domestic fleet and control illegal fishing, and has championed the use of those same methods internationally.
The action plan highlights the critical role of key international agreements, including the historic and enforceable environmental provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), as well as the Agreement on Port State Measures to prevent, deter, and eliminate IUU fishing. The TPP would prohibit some of the most harmful fisheries subsidies, such as those that contribute to overfishing — a first in any trade agreement. Our commitment is to support sustainable fisheries through the TPP’s environmental provisions, a regional agreement which includes four of the top 15 global producers of marine fisheries products by volume. And our efforts do not stop there — the United States is pursuing similar commitments in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations with the European Union.
The Port State Measures Agreement sets the first-ever minimum standards for countries to prevent IUU sea food products from entering their ports, which will, in turn, keep them from reaching the marketplace. In 2014, the US Senate — with bipartisan support — gave its advice and consent to ratification of this, and we are working with Congress to pass the implementing legislation necessary for the United State to finalize its ratification. For the agreement to go into effect, 14 more ratifications are needed, and then it must be implemented. The United States is reaching out to governments around the world to urge their rapid ratification of the agreement.
Seafood products are among the most widely traded food commodities, through a highly complex system. Seafood fraud can occur at any point along the supply chain, and can take many forms — a product might be purposely mislabeled with the wrong species name, or its origins misidentified, or a lesser value fish may be substituted for a more valuable species. The action plan sets out how the United States will improve the flow of information along the supply chain to combat all types of fraud. At its heart is a new traceability program to track seafood from where it was harvested or farmed to its entry into US markets. This risk-based program will improve our ability to minimize fraud and protect vulnerable fish stocks, while also enhancing food safety and building consumer confidence.
Read the full opinion piece at the Boston Globe