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Chinese industry associations and industry insiders have disputed the objectivity of the investigations
Chinese Seafood Sector Responds to NOAA's 'Action Plan' and Forced Labor Concerns
UNITED STATES
Thursday, November 28, 2024, 06:00 (GMT + 9)
NOAA is considering including imported seafood such as squid and salmon in its regulatory plan in response to "forced labor"!
 The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released an action plan on November 14, 2024, which plans to expand the coverage of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP), focusing on high-risk species such as squid and salmon, and for the first time formally incorporating the issue of forced labor into the regulatory scope of the global seafood supply chain, reports Frozen Food Guide  .
The plan aims to address illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and other problems in the seafood supply chain. NOAA proposes to establish a two-level priority system to optimize the traceability process based on the risk level of the species, while introducing a pre-screening procedure to prevent non-compliant seafood from entering the US market. The new plan will also strengthen the collection of information such as maritime transshipment records and fishing trip duration.
NOAA emphasized that long-term offshore operations and a lack of resource support may exacerbate labor exploitation, so the introduction of relevant data will help strengthen the control of forced labor. This action plan is expected to launch updated rules in 2025 and will be open to public comments.
In recent years, global attention to labor conditions in the seafood supply chain has been increasing. Some US non-profit organizations and media have published investigations on the labor conditions of Chinese distant-water fishing vessels and Chinese aquatic product export processing factories, claiming that forced labor and exploitation exist. Regarding these investigations, Chinese industry associations and industry insiders have disputed the objectivity of the investigations, and some voices have pointed out that some reports may have specific political purposes and attempt to weaken the competitiveness of the aquatic industry in certain countries. In this context, NOAA's inclusion of labor issues in the SIMP plan is seen as a key step in extending the policy to the supply chain.
 Currently, SIMP covers only 13 species, including cod, red snapper, and some tuna. NOAA's expansion of the plan may increase coverage of species such as squid, eels, and farmed and wild salmon, reducing the risk of mislabeling and illegally caught products in imported seafood. Environmental organizations support this, believing that strengthening traceability systems and labor protection is an important part of eliminating loopholes in the global supply chain.
NOAA's plan has also triggered different reactions from the US seafood industry. The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) believes that expanding the scope of SIMP will increase the burden on the industry and may cause unnecessary pressure on legal importers. At the same time, some industry representatives have expressed doubts about the actual effectiveness of the data collection and traceability system. In contrast, the American Aquaculture Association supports the plan.
NOAA plans to improve its traceability and screening capabilities by working with the US Customs and Border Protection, the US Department of Labor and other departments.
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