Tell NOAA to Ensure All Seafood is Traceable

Whether you enjoy seafood, or care deeply about the oceans or human rights, it's important to ensure that imported seafood is sourced responsibly. Illegal fishing and human rights abuses should not be part of our seafood dinners.

Most of the seafood sold in the United States is imported from other countries like China. But not all of it is safe, legally caught, responsibly sourced, and honestly labeled. Illegal fishing, including fishing without authorization or disregarding conservation measures, can deplete fisheries, destroy habitat, and kill marine wildlife.

The consequences of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and seafood fraud extend beyond environmental and humanitarian concerns, with economic impacts felt across the domestic U.S. fishing and processing industries. Seafood fraud threatens our health and safety, cheats consumers with higher prices for mislabeled fish of lower value, and hides harmful practices like illegal fishing, poorly regulated aquaculture, and human rights abuses.

As a seafood consumer, environmental champion, or human rights advocate, you possess the power to drive change. By asking questions, making informed choices, and using your voice to demand traceable supply chains and accountability — from both seafood suppliers and policymakers alike – you can make a real difference.

Tell the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to require catch documentation and traceability for all seafood today.

petition letter

Ms.

Alexa

Cole

NOAA

Dear Ms. Alexa Cole,

For seafood consumers, being aware of the realities of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and seafood fraud is crucial in making informed decisions about what we eat. IUU fishing practices often involve circumventing regulations, leading to overfishing, habitat destruction, and the exploitation of vulnerable workers. Additionally, IUU-caught seafood is frequently fraudulently labeled or mislabeled, making it difficult for consumers to know the true origin of the seafood they purchase. This not only poses consumer health risks but perpetuates the cycle of unsustainable fishing practices and human rights abuses associated with IUU fishing.

Seafood products move from boats and farms to factories in ways that are often difficult to trace. But the U.S. has tools in place to help combat IUU fishing and prevent seafood produced with forced labor and other human rights abuses from entering our markets. Oversight of the seafood supply chain in the United States falls short, but tools like NOAA’s Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) can shed light on this opaque supply chain to help give consumers confidence that the seafood we are eating is safe, legally caught, responsibly sourced, and honestly labeled.

I recommend:

* Expand the catch documentation and traceability requirements of SIMP to all seafood imports to close loopholes and prevent seafood substitution, mislabeling, and other fraud.

* NOAA should work with the Food and Drug Administration to align SIMP with the FDA’s traceability requirements for seafood.

* Combatting IUU fishing is not only essential for consumer protection, but also crucial in the fight against seafood fraud and any associated human rights abuses and unsustainable practices. While seafood is one of the most popular foods in the United States, consumers are routinely given little or no information about where their seafood is from. Plus, the information provided on seafood labels is often misleading or fraudulent. Requiring all seafood imports be subject to robust catch documentation and traceability from boat to plate would give Americans more confidence in the seafood they eat.

Kind Regards, 
{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name}

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