(The Center Square) – U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, led a bipartisan group of Senators in voicing concern about a recent decision from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The NOAA withdrew proposed rules that would have expanded its Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP).
It is, “a program designed to address Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing,” according to Merkley’s office.
The Senators voiced their concerns in a letter to the NOAA. It comes after NOAA announced it would withdraw a proposed rule from December 2022 that would have increased the number of species subject to monitoring by 4% to 8%.
“This small increase was already quite concerning as it left off nearly half of all seafood imports not covered by these measures,” a release said.
The lawmakers fear that, without the rule expansion, IUU sources will intentionally mislabel and misrepresent seafood products.
“As the United States imports or reimports more than 85 percent of its seafood, the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) should be strengthened and expanded to provide consumers with confidence that the imported seafood they purchase at their retail markets or in restaurants is legally harvested and truthfully represented,” the lawmakers wrote. “Unfortunately, a recent study by the U.S. International Trade Commission found that the U.S. imported more than $2.4 billion worth of illegal seafood annually in 2019, highlighting the need for strong and urgent government action to prevent illegal products from entering the U.S. market.”
In May 2023, Merkley and some of his Senate colleagues expressed their concerns to NOAA about the proposed change.
The senators feared that withdrawing the proposed rule instead of expanding SIMP would result in American consumers getting seafood sourced from illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing practices.
The Senators urged NOAA to create a stronger, more thorough, and transparent rulemaking process.
Merkley was one of 10 Senators to sign the letter; nine were Democrats, while U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi, was the lone Republican.
Commercial fisheries generated $558 million for the Oregon economy as of 2019, the equivalent of about 9,200 jobs, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
One can read the full letter here.
