April 7, 2009 Washington, DC (FoodBizDaily) The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) is urging adoption of a rule proposed by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) which leverages access to the United States market in an effort to combat illegally sourced seafood and fishing which results in bycatch of protected living marine resources.
“This rule is about more than helping nations identify illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing – it strengthens regional fishery management organizations (RFMOs) by supporting conservation measures already in place and holding member nations accountable to those agreements,” ISSF president Susan Jackson said.
Jackson testified before the NMFS Office of International Affairs in support of the proposed rule which would require NMFS to identify countries with vessels involved in IUU fishing, work with those countries and RFMOs to ensure corrective measures are in place and if not, impose restrictions which may include cutting off U.S. port access to vessels from that nation.
“IUU fishing threatens sustainability efforts and governing bodies must take action to address the issue while offering support to industry members who follow the rules,” Jackson said.
The NMFS proposal would give the Secretary of Commerce the option to allow seafood from countries with a negative certification access to the U.S. market on a shipment-by-shipment, shipper-by-shipper, or other basis.
“These alternative procedures will encourage responsible members of the fishing industry to continue their sustainable practices,” Jackson said. “That encouragement is as important as compelling those engaged in IUU fishing to change their ways.”
The ISSF board addressed IUU fishing earlier this year by passing a resolution which urges members to refrain from “transactions in tuna caught by vessels on the IUU list” of any tuna RFMO.
The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) is a global partnership among scientists, the tuna industry and the environmental non-governmental organization community. Its mission is to undertake science-based initiatives for the long-term conservation and sustainable use of tuna stocks, reducing by-catch and promoting ecosystem health.
Contact
www.iss-foundation.org