Presidential Task Force Seeks Public Commentary On Seafood Safety

By Laurel Maloy, contributing writer, Food Online

Relatively speaking, the IUU and Seafood Fraud task force have gone from formation to recommendation in a very un-governmental amount of time. Public comments are being sought on how best to implement the recently-drafted recommendations

On Jun 17, 2014, a Presidential Memorandum was released, entitled “Establishing a Comprehensive Framework to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and Seafood Fraud.” The memorandum established a Presidential Task Force and set in motion a comprehensive effort to stem the tide of illegal fishing operations and seafood fraud. Co-chaired by the Department of Commerce and the Department of State, a total of 12 other governmental agencies are involved. The task force was asked to report to the President within 6 months with its recommendations.

Following an already successful protocol, a public comment period was opened on July 31 and closed on September 2. A number of public meetings with task force representatives took place in August. The public comments can be viewed on the Regulations.gov website with a transcript of all four public meetings available here. The recommendations for the areas requiring the greatest attention came from the National Ocean Council. The council is seeking:

Global Initiatives
As up to 90 percent of the seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported, the necessity for international regulation is critical.

Collaboration
Due to the scope of the task, all involved in the seafood trade must be enlisted to identify and eliminate the illegal activity. This includes governmental, private, state, local, federal, and international agency partnerships.

Execution
The National Ocean Council wants to establish enforceable regulation and provide enforcement agencies the tools and funding to do their jobs.

Traceability
The need for a risk-based, efficient program to track seafood from harvest to U.S. ingress is required in to order to prevent the introduction of illegal products and to better inform consumers and retailers.

Due to be published in the Federal Register December 18, the recommendations have been drafted and the task force moves onto the implementation phase. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) filed its report early this week. NMFS is under the umbrella of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is a branch of the Department of Commerce, co-chair for this endeavor. Though the task force and the subsequent recommendations were created more as a measure by which to curb illegal activity in the fishing industry, it has far-reaching implications for food safety and will work in conjunction with the FDA’s Imported Seafood Safety Program. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was also part of the task force and it is expected that internal coordination will prevent duplication of efforts. Streamlining this process will take time and a thorough understanding of the entire imported seafood-supply chain.

In this effort, another public comment period has been opened for discussion on how best to implement the recommendations on IUU fishing and seafood fraud. Instructions on the various ways in which to submit comments are on the second page of the recommendations document. Anyone with a vested interest in the seafood business and seafood safety is encouraged to comment. The comment period will close 30 days after its publication in the Federal Register, expected to occur December 18, 2014.