Federal lawmakers from the U.S. states of Maryland and Virginia are calling on U.S. President Joe Biden to take action on a surge of crabmeat imported from Venezuela.
In a joint letter, the congressional delegations from Maryland and Virginia asked the president to launch an investigation into how Venezuelan crabmeat imports are hurting the domestic seasood industry.
“Domestic seafood producers in Maryland and Virginia have experienced significant strain due to the influx of imported Venezuelan crabmeat, some of which is mislabeled and contaminated,” the legislators said. “In 2018, Venezuelan crabmeat mislabeled as originating from Maryland caused an outbreak of foodborne illnesses, resulting in multiple hospitalizations. Since then, the supply of imported crabmeat has increased, threatening the future livelihood of domestic industry and creating the conditions for a 62 percent decrease in the domestic supply.”
More than USD 44 million (EUR 41 million) worth of crabmeat was imported from Venezuela in the first six months of 2024, according to conservation group Oceana.
The legislators asked the president to direct the International Trade Commission to investigate any harms Venezuelan crabmeat imports may pose to the domestic seafood sector, pointing to the rapid decline of crabbing in the Chesapeake Bay in particular. According to the letter, the number of Maryland crab picking and seafood-processing companies has decreased more than 50 percent since 1995 – fewer than 20 remain.
The lawmakers also asked the administration to use its informal trade mechanisms such as negotiations, utilization of World Trade Organization committees, and bilateral dialogues to create a “a fairer seafood trade relationship.”
Oceana praised the lawmakers for pressuring the administration to act, pointing to a 2015 investigation that found 38 percent of the crab cakes it sampled contained an imported species despite being labeled as locally sourced blue crab.
“The blue crab is an iconic symbol of Chesapeake Bay and supports the livelihoods of thousands of local fishers and seafood businesses in Maryland and Virginia,” Oceana Campaign Director Max Valentine said in a statement. “The clear bipartisan concern over mislabeled and fraudulent seafood emphasizes the gaps in our current seafood traceability system. We need documentation for all seafood so that we can trace it from the boat or farm to our dinner plates. Seafood traceability protects American consumers and levels the playing field for U.S. fishers. The United States must expand the Seafood Import Monitoring Program to include catch documentation and traceability requirements for all seafood. It’s the only way we can make sure our seafood is safe, legally caught, responsibly sourced, and honestly labeled.”
In September, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning letter to Venezuela-based Procesadora Marina De La Costa Oriental Del Lago for failing to meet crucial food safety standards. The letter lists multiples safety violations, including inadequate cooling processes of cooked crab, lack of temperature monitoring, and failure to implement time-temperature indicators in product packaging. The FDA said it may begin detaining the company’s products if the issues are not corrected.