Two successful NOAA investigations have resulted in US seafood importers issued with thousands of dollars in fines for improperly labelling canned tuna dolphin safe.
NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Law Enforcement conducted two multi-year investigations with NOAA Fisheries Office of International Affairs, Trade, and Commerce’s Tuna Tracking and Verification Program carrying out spot check audits. Two seafood were importers consequently suspected of importing tuna products into the United States from Mexico, improperly labelled a dolphin safe.
The investigation concluded that Mexican purse seiners harvested yellowfin tuna in eastern tropical Pacific waters, which was packaged the tuna into cans and pouches, and labelled it as a dolphin safe product.
During an 11-month period, a distribution company imported 74 shipments of the improperly labelled tuna product, a total of just under 1000 tonnes. During the course of the a further shipment of 46,080 improperly labelled tuna cans was intercepted en route to the US and returned it to Mexico.
The importers cooperated with the investigation, pulled the product from retail, and donated it to a non-profit dedicated to fighting food insecurity. They agreed to create a new label, without a dolphin-safe logo, for all future shipments of tuna product destined for the United States.
The other investigation found a large nationwide retailer imported 29 shipments, a total of 540 tonnes, of improperly labelled yellowfin tuna products, also carrying the incorrect dolphin safe label. On notification, the company removed the improperly labelled product from retail sales and blocked point-of-sale transactions. They donated the tuna product, and sent all incoming shipments of the improperly labelled tuna back to Mexico. The retail company no longer sources tuna products from the supplier responsible for adding the improper logo to their product. Additionally, the company has since enacted a more robust internal review process when importing seafood into the United States.
NOAA’s Office of General Counsel Enforcement Section issued a combined total of $222,902 in civil penalties to the responsible importers.
‘Having a presence at our borders and ports of entry is vital to ensuring seafood enters our country lawfully,’ said Paige Casey, acting assistant director, NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement, Southeast Division.
‘NOAA Fisheries routinely works with the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to identify and prevent illegal and improperly labeled seafood from entering into commerce. When unlawful products do enter the stream of commerce, we rely on the investigative expertise of our agents to identify and halt further distribution.’
