News
New US Sanctions Compliance Warning: What to Know
The Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and Justice are putting the world on notice - US sanctions are not just a domestic issue. Here's what seafood supply chains need to know.
News
Regulatory changes and updates seafood supply chains need to know.
News
US Ban on Pre-Purchased Russian Seafood Delayed 3 Months, Here's Why
Last December, President Biden expanded upon a 2022 Executive Order banning select US imports from Russia–including seafood–to now encompass Russian-origin exports to the US from any country. Given their shared border and extensive processing capacity China has frequently served as an intermediary for Russian seafood en route to
News
How the US is Handling its Updated Russian Seafood Ban
On December 22, 2023 President Biden updated his previous Executive Order banning imports of Russian seafood to the US because, frankly, the 2022 version wasn't working. The new order became effective immediately which meant that some implementing measures needed to be put in place right away. Here’s
News
Biden’s Second Attempt to Ban Russian Seafood is Here... but Will it Work This Time?
We'll break down the seafood requirements in President Biden's second Executive Order on banning Russian seafood imports and discuss what to expect moving forward.
News
*Update*: NOAA Seafood Import Bans Expected in 3̶0̶ ̶D̶a̶y̶s̶ Two Years
Update: On November 16, 2023, NOAA announced an additional two-year delay in the implementation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act Import Provisions. Original post from November 1, 2023: Fifteen years after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was asked to ban seafood imports under the Marine Mammal Protection Act,
News
What to Know and Expect from New Reporting on Slavery in China's Squid Supply Chain
Yesterday The New Yorker published two lengthy exposés from indie journalist Ian Urbina on China's labor abuse in the seafood sector (citations below). They claim that 17% of the squid imported to the US was processed by forced laborers in China, some of it harvested by fishers enslaved
News
FDA's latest on FSMA 204 enforcement
This morning, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shared some practical information about their plans for enforcing FSMA 204 on an operational level. Here's our quick breakdown of what you should know: 1. Industry will be able to submit data to the FDA in two ways: 1.
News
Key Takeaways from NOAA’s 2023 IUU Report
Last week NOAA issued its biennial report on international fisheries management, which includes a list of nations engaged in Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. The report chronicles the recent history of enforcement, diplomacy and capacity building between the US and a host of nations on fishery management issues ranging
News
US Authorizes Wild-caught Shrimp Imports from Mexico and others, Bans Malaysia
The US Department of State is all about diplomacy, but did you know that it also has a small but influential role in regulating shrimp imports? It’s true! The department bans imports from foreign shrimp fisheries that do not meet the US standard for protecting sea turtles. Thematically, the
News
What we learned about the cost of SIMP
Goldfish asked NOAA for extra time to review its estimate of how much Seafood Import Monitoring Program compliance costs US industry. In the 30-day extension NOAA gave we surveyed brokers and importers to test NOAA’s assumptions as well as our own. Here's what we learned: It takes
News
Does SIMP compliance really cost $20?
Does SIMP compliance really cost $20? Importers, brokers and vendors: Click here to complete our 5-minute survey on SIMP to make the industry’s efforts heard as the government considers expansion! Special thanks to NCBFAA for partnering on this effort. Earlier this month, we asked NOAA for more time to
News
Why We Asked NOAA for More Time to Review its SIMP Expansion Proposal
Our mission is to support industry by opening new markets. As a software company, we spend most of our time translating complex regulations into software and keep an eye on the politics through our trade associations. On occasion, the right thing to do for our customers is to is stand
News
Coming in 2023: Enhanced Seafood Imports Screening for Forced Labor Risk
It is illegal to import goods produced using forced labor, but screening for violations is easier said than done. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP)’s main tool for restricting seafood imports at risk of labor violations is Withhold Release Orders. CBP has issued a handful of these targeting specific
News
US Import Requirements for Snapper are Getting Tougher
This is shaping up to be a busy year for NOAA’s Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP). The agency has a proposed rule out for public comment (which we will discuss in depth over the coming weeks), and was handed a number of new SIMP requirements from Congress in the
News
Tiny Dolphin, Big Deal: US Bans New Zealand Seafood
Late last year, the Court of International Trade disagreed with the US government and sided with conservation advocate Sea Shepherd’s argument that the US must ban imports of seafood harvested in a manner that threatens the endangered Māui dolphin. While the action was immediate, implementing a highly specific trade