In an move that could help buoy the Gulf of Mexico fisheries industry, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service has reported 10 countries to Congress whose fishing vessels engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in 2011 or 2012, or did not effectively prevent the catch of protected species. The idea is that by working with these countries to reduce such fishing infractions it will help level the playing field for U.S. fishermen.
NOAA’s international fisheries work is critical to the economic viability of U.S. fishing communities and the protection of U.S. jobs, Russell Smith, NOAA deputy assistant secretary for international fisheries, stated in an announcement on Friday. This is about leveling the playing field for fishermen around the world,and IUU fishing represents one of the biggest threats to the U.S. fishing industry.
The National Marine Fisheries states illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing or IUU fishing undermines international efforts to sustainably manage and rebuild fisheries, and creates unfair market competition for fishermen who adhere to strict conservation measures.
Seafood is a global business, and U.S. fishermen following the rules should not have to compete with those using illegal or unsustainable fishing practices, Smith continued.
The international community uses the term IUU fishing to describe activity that does not comply with national, regional or global fisheries conservation and management obligations, wherever such fishing occurs.
The federal government will soon start consultations with each of the 10 nations: Colombia, Ecuador, Ghana, Italy, Mexico, Panama, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Tanzania, and Venezuela to encourage them to address the infractions.
Since 2009 the National Marine Fisheries Service has been mandated to produce a biennial report to Congress detailing any such fisheries infractions. And once such a nation has been identified, NOAA consults with that nation to encourage appropriate corrective action.
If the nation does not correct the fishing infractions, then NOAA can impose trade restrictions on that nation, such as prohibiting imports of certain fish or fish products from that nation and denying that nation’s fishing vessels port privileges and entry into U.S. waters.
The federal government, under the Lacey Act, also can impose significant sanctions against individuals and companies engaged in trafficking illegally-taken fish and wildlife.
Because the U.S. imports more than 80 percent of its seafood second most in the world behind China NOAA Fisheries officials say they must ensure that high demand for imported seafood does not create incentives for illegal fishing activity.
As one of the largest importers of seafood in the world, the United States has a global responsibility and an economic duty to ensure that the fish we import is caught sustainably and legally, said Sam Rauch, deputy assistant administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service.
In its last report to Congress, in 2011, the Fisheries Service identified six nations that had vessels engaged in IUU fishing activity: Colombia, Ecuador, Italy, Panama, Portugal, and Venezuela. Each of the nations has since corrected the infractions
The action comes on the heels of the Coalition of Gulf Shrimp Industries petitions seeking “countervailing duties” — duties imposed to offset subsidies by foreign governments — on shrimp from China, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The coalition, which formed to file the Dec. 28 petitions and mainly consists of shrimp processors, states that the duties are needed “to offset the unfair trade advantage currently held by these countries.”
The move also comes about a month after the Southern Shrimp Alliance hailed a House bill that included a provision to increase U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s powers to catch foreign exporters that circumvent U.S. import regulations.
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