New rule proposed by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is strongly advocated by the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF). This rule 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.
ISSF president Susan Jackson explained that the proposed 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. This rule 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.
According to Jackson 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. 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.
It is told that new proposed rule will encourage responsible members of the fishing industry to continue their sustainable practices. That encouragement is as important as compelling those engaged in IUU fishing to change their ways.
