On November 5, 2015, President
Obama has signed the H.R.774 - Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU)Fishing Enforcement Act. The Act aims to combat IUU fishing and seafood fraud.
The new
law attempts to:
-
prevent illegally harvested fish from entering the United States, and
-
support efforts to achieve sustainable fisheries around the world.
The US
now joins a global effort to ratify the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) to
preclude ships carrying illegally caught fish from entering US ports. The PSMA
will become legally binding after a total of 25 countries have ratified it. The
US is the fourteenth country to have ratified the PSMA.
Implementation
of this legislation was the first Recommendation of the IUU Action Plan
published on March 15, 2015 by the President’s Task Force on Combating IUU and
Seafood Fraud. The Task Force is
co-chaired by the Departments of Commerce and State.
The new
law will allow the US to work with the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission,
which is responsible for the conservation and management of tuna and other
marine resources in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
According
to the Statement by the Press Secretary of the White House, “[t]hese measures will benefit U.S.
fishermen, seafood buyers, and consumers by protecting our domestic fishermen
from unfair, illegal competition and ensure consumer confidence in the seafood
supply. The signing of this bill will also enhance our ability to prevent IUU
fish and fish product from entering U.S. commerce by strengthening domestic
enforcement authorities. The Administration looks forward to working with the
Congress to secure the necessary enforcement authorities to prevent illegally
harvested or falsely labeled fish from being sold in the United States, and to
level the playing field for the U.S. fishing industry.”
All
photos Copyright 2015 Sergei Tokmakov
