U.S. federal court upholds seafood traceability rule
According to Food Safety News, a new U.S. federal plan to combat seafood fraud by requiring the fishing industry to trace their catches from boat or farm to the U.S. border has survived a court challenge.
According to Food Safety News, a new U.S. federal plan to combat seafood fraud by requiring the fishing industry to trace their catches from boat or farm to the U.S. border has survived a court challenge. The Seafood Traceability Rule, which requires seafood importers of species like tuna, grouper, swordfish, red snapper, and blue crab to track fish entering the United States by species and origin, is set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2018.
The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) and eight individual seafood companies brought a lawsuit in January 2017 to prevent the rule from taking effect. Despite the fact that U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta agrees that tracking seafood imports can be complicated, he ultimately ruled against the NFI and industry stating that, “In the end, the rule weathers the storm of plaintiffs’ various challenges.”
The U.S.-based seafood importers, processors, and harvesters tried other arguments, such as claiming the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has exclusive jurisdiction over the industry. The arguments did not sway the judge, who stated that the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) gives the Dept. of Commerce all the power it needs to implement the rule.
In response to the ruling, NFI’s President John Connelly released the following statement: “NFI is disappointed with the court’s decision. The Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) remains an expensive burden for the American companies that will bear the costs, for instance $53 million in recordkeeping expenses alone. NFI has a long history of supporting the reasonable authorities Congress provided to administrations to combat illegal fishing. These additional regulations will not decrease pirate fishing. The SIMP will though increase food prices and reduce seafood choices for the average American family. NFI will thoroughly review the court’s decision and as always our members will comply with the law.”