A White House task force has issued a set of recommendations to combat the growing problem of illegal fishing and make it easier to tell if the fish you are buying is what you think it is and whether it was legally caught and imported.
The task force is trying to address the largest global threat to sustainable management of the world’s fisheries – namely, illegal, unreported, and unregulated or IUU fishing. IUU fishing threatens sustainable fishing practices by damaging the ecosystem and by gaining unfair economic advantages over law-abiding fishing operations. A recent study found that from 20 to 32% of wild-caught seafood imported into the US is fished illegally. Global losses attributable to IUU fishing are estimated to be $10-23 billion annually.
Another threat to the viability of the fishing industry is seafood fraud, where fish is mislabeled with respect to its species, country of origin, quantity, or quality. This is a pervasive problem and can occur at any point along the seafood supply chain from harvest to market.
The task force recommendations are designed to block the import of illegally caught fish and to improve traceability and transparency in the seafood industry. The goal is to level the playing field for legitimate fishers and businesses in the seafood industry and to give consumers more confidence in the seafood they buy in the United States. After a public comment period, the recommendations are expected to lead to executive action from the President as well as introduction of new legislation.
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White House Issues Ambitious Plan to Fight Illegal Fishing
Photo, posted July 10, 2007, courtesy of Emma Forsberg via Flickr.
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Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.