30 June 2008

[US] Senate Committee Approves Measure to Combat Illegal Seafood Imports

This article is excerpted from the 30 June 2008 edition of “World\Trade Interactive”.

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved June 24 legislation (S. 2904) that aims to prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated seafood from entering the U.S. According to a committee press release, illegal seafood accounts for nearly $9 billion in lost revenue annually. The measure… would strengthen U.S. fisheries law enforcement programs and would assist developing countries with fisheries monitoring and enforcement.

Specifically, the bill would do the following.

• strengthen civil and criminal penalties for violating international fisheries laws;

• create an interagency international fisheries enforcement program to extend law enforcement authorities across government agencies and authorize better coordination and resource sharing in investigations; and

• create an international cooperation and assistance program to authorize assistance to developing countries to increase their capacity for fisheries monitoring and enforcement.