NOAA has lifted its stay on shrimp and abalone in the U.S. Seafood Import Monitoring Program – known as SIMP. As required by Congress — by December 31, 2018, it will be mandatory for foreign shrimp products to be accompanied by harvest and landing data and for importers to maintain chain of custody records for shrimp and abalone imports entering the U.S. The inclusion of shrimp – the largest US seafood import- and abalone in SIMP nearly doubles the volume and value of imported fish and fish products subject to its requirements, further leveling the playing field for U.S. fishermen, aquaculture producers, and seafood producers around the world who play by the rules.
The United States is recognized as a global leader in sustainable seafood – both wild-caught and farmed. Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and seafood fraud, including misrepresented seafood products, jeopardize the health of fish stocks, distort legal markets, negatively impact consumer confidence, and unfairly compete with the products of law-abiding fishermen, aquaculture producers and seafood producers.
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