Delivering on Seafood Traceability Under the Seafood Import Monitoring Program

Transcription

1 Delivering on Seafood Traceability Under the Seafood Import Monitoring Program Steven Wilson Director, Seafood Commerce and Certification Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection

2 Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing and seafood fraud o threatens valuable natural resources that are critical to global food security o puts law-abiding fishers and seafood producers, in the United States and abroad, at a disadvantage. Combating IUU Fishing TRACEABILITY Seafood Import Monitoring Program SCIENTIFIC/ POLICY EFFORTS Stock Assessments Engagement and Participation in Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) ENFORCEMEN T Port State Measures Agreement Maritime Domain Awareness TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Capacity Building Training Page 2 U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service

3 The Seafood Import Monitoring Program established permitting, data reporting and recordkeeping requirements for the import of thirteen *fish and fish products that have been identified as being particularly vulnerable to IUU fishing and/or seafood fraud. The U.S. importer of record is the responsible party. Edible seafood imports to the U.S. valued at $21.5 billion; approx. 1/3 (imported value) are subject to SIMP (includes shrimp & abalone) *SPECIES: Abalone / Atlantic Cod / Blue Crab (Atlantic) / Dolphinfish (Mahi Mahi) / Grouper / King Crab (red) / Pacific Cod / Red Snapper / Sea Cucumber / Sharks / Shrimp / Swordfish / Tunas (Albacore, Bigeye, Skipjack, Yellowfin, and Bluefin) Page 3 U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service

4 Timeline Regulation Proposed (February 2016) Regulation Finalized (December 2016) NOAA Seeks Public s Input on Principles to Combat IUU Fishing and Seafood Fraud (April 2015) SIMP effective January 2017 (one year implementation) Compliance enforced for 11 of the 13 species starting January 1, NOW 2019 *Shrimp and Abalone informed compliance ends April 1, 2019 *Traceability Information Program for Seafood (shrimp and abalone) *Commerce Trusted Trader Program Congress authorizes inclusion of shrimp and abalone in SIMP (April 2018) Page 4 U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service

5 Outreach & Engagement DOMESTIC 15+ NOAA Roundtables/ Workshops for importers and brokers at major ports across the United States W N E INTERNATIONAL India, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Philippines, Russia, Brunei, Ecuador, Peru, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic S Government to Government Meetings/ Trainings Dedicated Phone Line and for Technical Assistance to Industry 30+ English, Spanish, French, and Japanese translated Webinars Page 5 U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service

6 Entry Filing Compliance 2018 Informed Compliance Period (11 of 13 species) 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Government Shutdown 2019 Informed Compliance Period (shrimp and abalone) Active Outreach Page 6 U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service

7 Audits Purpose: To determine that the harvest events reported in the entry filing process were legal, and that the product of those harvest events reported can be traced to the point of entry into U.S. commerce. Auditing Process: Auditing of chain of custody records is in effect, and is being conducted as a 2-phase process. Phase 1: Documents request and review Phase 2: Verification Page 7 U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service

8 What s Next? Inclusion of shrimp and abalone Extended informed compliance period ends April 1, 2019 Traceability Information Program for Seafood Domestic aquaculture data collection Commerce Trusted Trader Program Purpose: To offer optional benefits and incentives for holders of an International Fisheries Trade Permit certified as Commerce Trusted Traders to obtain a more streamlined entry of seafood products into U.S. commerce. Page 8 U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service

9 Website: Phone: (toll) or (toll-free)

10 Delivering on Seafood Traceability Under the SIMP: An Enforcement Perspective Assistant Director Todd Dubois Law Enforcement Operations and International Programs NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement Page 10 U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service

11 Leveling the Playing Field Illegal Unreported Unregulated Harvest Legal Reported Regulated Harvest Detecting and deterring IUU fishing presents many challenges Page 11 U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service

12 Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and seafood fraud threatens valuable natural resources that are critical to global food security and socio-economic stability, putting lawabiding fishers and seafood producers, here in the U.S. and abroad, at a disadvantage. $96 billion U.S. seafood market The Seafood Import Monitoring Program is another tool to help ensure that IUU fish and fish products stay out of the U.S. seafood market. Page 12 U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service

13 Combating the Trade in IUU Fish Products SIMP applies only to seafood entering the U.S. from a foreign country (including re-imported seafood harvested in the U.S.) Key information required by SIMP: o Harvest and Landing Information: must be reported electronically at the time of import through International Trade Data System (ITDS). o Documents that trace the product from harvest to point of entry into U.S must be retained by the U.S. importer of record for 2 years and available for review. Combating IUU Fishing and Trade in IUU Fish Products through Import Monitoring and Inspections

14 SIMP Requirements Permitting = International Fisheries Trade Permit Data reporting = electronic data entry to Customs Recordkeeping = electronic or paper files kept by importer Complements and align requirements with other import programs, e.g. AMLR, HMS International, Tuna Tracking and Verification Program

15 SIMP is only one tool in NOAA s Efforts to Combat IUU Fishing and Trade in IUU Fish Products Page 15 U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service

16 Combating IUU Fishing at the Source Port State Measures Inspector Training Program: focuses on the operational requirements of the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA), methods to detect IUU-fishing activity and the ability to conduct thorough fisheries inspections of foreign-flagged fishing and fishingsupport vessels Counter-IUU Fishing Investigations Training: focuses on fisheries law enforcement best practices and case package development. Counter-IUU Fishing Workshop takes a holistic approach to combating IUU fishing covering higher-level topics such as: legal tools; emerging technologies and use of fisheries intelligence / analysis; conduct of a fisheries inspection; fisheries investigations and successful prosecution of IUU fishing cases. Page 16 U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service

17 Recent NOAA OLE Counter-IUU Fishing and PSMA Efforts Indonesia: PSMA Inspector and Manager Training Workshops Philippines: Counter-IUU Fishing and PSMA Inspector Training Workshops West Africa: Counter-IUU Fishing Inspector Training Missions Ecuador: Counter-IUU Fishing Workshop South Korea: Collaboration Workshop to Combat IUU Fishing and PSMA Chile: Counter-IUU Fishing Workshop Thailand: Combating IUU Fishing and Crimes Associated w/ IUU Fishing Workshops Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago: PSMA Inspector training & MCS support Regional PSMA Inspector and Manager Training Workshops in SE Asia and Latin America & the Caribbean Engagement with other Partners: Southeast Asia RPOA-IUU, INTERPOL, IMCS Network, Bilateral Agreements and Collaboration Network of Exchange of information and experiences among countries of Latin America and the Caribbean to Prevent, Discourage and Eliminate IUU Fishing (observers) Page 17 U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service

18 NOAA Office of Law Enforcement International Program