Advocating for Strengthened Seafood Regulations

The primary objective of this advocacy toolkit is to provide end buyers with the knowledge and resources necessary to advocate for robust and well-enforced seafood regulations. Productive advocacy involves understanding existing regulations, identifying areas for improvement, and engaging in ongoing dialogue with policymakers and other stakeholders.

Key Benefits of Using This Toolkit Include:

1. Mitigating risk and liability: By advocating for and championing robust seafood regulations, especially import control rules, end buyers can reduce the risk of IUU products entering their supply chains, protecting their businesses from potential legal and reputational harm.
2. Enhancing traceability and transparency: Adoption of electronic traceability systems, alignment with existing seafood traceability standards, and working towards traceability and transparency best practices can support improved supply chain transparency and facilitate regulatory compliance.
3. Promoting standardization: Advocating for standardized data requirements across U.S. seafood regulations and trade monitoring programs supports more efficient and streamlined data collection and reporting.

This toolkit helps end buyers navigate key U.S. seafood regulations and advocate for stronger enforcement of existing policies and better design of future ones. It includes:

• An Overview of U.S. Import Control Rules: Explanations of existing U.S. import control measures and their significance for end buyers
• Advocacy Guidance: Strategies and tips for advocating for stronger seafood import regulations
• An Overview of the FDA Food Traceability Final Rule (FSMA 204): An in-depth look at the FSMA 204 and its implications for end buyers
• End Buyer FAQs: Answers to common questions end buyers may have regarding seafood import controls and advocacy opportunities

This toolkit serves as a resource for end buyers committed to ensuring the sustainability and legality of their seafood supply chains. By leveraging the information and strategies provided, end buyers can play a pivotal role in advocating for effective seafood policy, thereby combatting illegal fishing and promoting the long-term health of the seafood industry.

Click below for a brief fact sheet for seafood buyers

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) oversees four seafood import control programs: the Seafood Import Monitoring Program, the Tuna Tracking and Verification Program, the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species International Trade Program, and the Antarctic Marine Living Resources Program. These programs are designed to support sustainable fisheries, promote food security, complement other policy efforts, and prevent products that do not meet U.S. market admissibility criteria—such as those resulting from illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing—from entering the country.

To promote traceable and legal supply chains, effective advocacy from end buyers can include a host of topics including but not limited to standardized global regulations, greater transparency from governments, or the use of technology to enhance traceability from harvest to final point of sale. While each regulation differs on the ultimate responsible party, the following represents general topics that are relevant to end buyers regarding seafood import control rules and what topics they care to advocate for:

Importance of import control rules

Import control rules play a critical role in keeping illegal products out of seafood supply chains by ensuring that only legally harvested seafood enters the market. These controls help prevent and deter the introduction of seafood sourced through IUU fishing, which undermines legitimate businesses that adhere to ethical and sustainable practices. Through strong enforcement of these kinds of regulations, governments can protect consumers from fraudulent or unsafe products while supporting the long-term sustainability of global fisheries.

Government transparency

Increasing government transparency around how regulations are designed, implemented, and enforced can illuminate different programs’ effectiveness while better informing expectations for seafood suppliers and overall sourcing guidance. This could involve more regular reporting back to the industry and public, announcing when guidance materials are updated or created, and sharing aggregated trends or analyses that can support companies’ responsible procurement efforts. Additionally, including industry, such as end buyers, in the design or amendment process of regulations allows for policies that are ambitious yet achievable, and reflective of current realities, limitations, and opportunities within global seafood supply chains.

Broad coverage of all imported seafood

At present, the U.S. flagship import control role, the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP), only applies to about 40% of imported seafood, which allows loopholes for IUU products to enter U.S. supply chains. Advocating for expansion, or at minimum, broader coverage of higher-risk species can close loopholes and gaps that allow illicit actors to exploit or evade compliance thereby safeguarding end buyers’ supply chains.

Increased capacity building

End buyers rely on data exchanges and communications with their supply chains daily. Increasing the capacity of supply chains to comply with import regulations through measures such as supply chain training, resources in numerous languages, and updated guidance materials would reduce the risk of end buyers sourcing IUU products. Additionally, it would encourage the global adoption of electronic traceability systems and level the playing field for imports across all species. 

Improved interagency collaboration across import regulations

Import control rules can be powerful tools to support interagency data exchange as these programs regularly collect large amounts of information for recordkeeping, permitting, and reporting purposes. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) relies on product data to address the risks of IUU fishing and seafood fraud. Other agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Department of Labor (DOL), and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are responsible for addressing food safety, human rights abuses, and enforcement efforts, respectively. It’s critical to harmonize and share data across the various import regulations to support interagency communication, reduce data collection redundancy, and comprehensively work to combat IUU fishing, seafood fraud, and human and labor rights abuses via a whole-of-government approach.

Consideration for a hybrid approach with other unilateral import control rules

U.S. import control rules currently place the responsibility of compliance on supply chain actors; primarily importers. Consideration should be given to a ‘hybrid’ approach whereby governments also shoulder partial responsibility for program compliance and building capacity within supply chains. Additionally, aligning across major market states existing import regulations (e.g., US, EU, Japan) would greatly support streamlined data asks and global enforcement efforts.

Click below for an example end buyer advocacy letter

The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Final Traceability Rule, also known as Rule 204, is a significant regulation that aims to improve food safety in the United States. Rule 204 is part of the FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and was finalized to enhance the traceability of certain foods. The rule requires the tracking of foods on the FDA’s Food Traceability List as they move through the supply chain, from production to consumption. With this improved traceability, products can be rapidly and effectively tracked to prevent and mitigate foodborne illness outbreaks, protect public health, and minimize the scope of recalls.

While the rule was finalized in November 2022, companies must come into compliance by January 20, 2026. This gives businesses time to implement or upgrade necessary systems and practices.

1. Food Traceability List (FTL)
   • The FTL includes foods that are deemed high risk for contamination, such as leafy greens, certain fruits, and seafood. Businesses handling these foods must adhere to the rule.
2. Traceability Plan
   • Entities must have a written traceability plan outlining how they will maintain the required records, including the critical tracking events (CTEs) and key data elements (KDEs) that must be documented.
3. Critical Tracking Events (CTEs)
   • CTEs refer to specific points in the supply chain where food is grown, received, transformed, or shipped. At each of these events, certain data must be recorded.
4. Key Data Elements (KDEs) 
   • KDEs are the specific pieces of information that must be recorded at each CTE. Examples include the location of the event, date, and details of the food item (e.g., lot numbers).
5. Record-Keeping Requirements
   • Records must be maintained in a way that allows the FDA to access them quickly. Businesses must provide electronic or hard copies upon request within 24 hours during an investigation.

The FDA presents a Food Traceability List (FTL)* of certain products subject to the rule. In addition to other food commodities, there are select seafood products, including:

• Fresh and frozen finfish** including smoked finfish (Siluriformes fish, catfish, excluded)
• Fresh and frozen crustaceans
• Fresh and frozen molluscan shellfish, bivalves***

* The Food Traceability List can be updated as the FDA deems appropriate.

** The FTL specifically highlights finfish that are histamine-producing species (tuna, mahi mahi, mackerel, amberjack, jack, swordfish, and yellowtail), species potentially contaminated with ciguatoxin (grouper, barracuda, and snapper), and species not associated with histamine or ciguatoxin (cod, haddock, Alaska pollock, salmon, tilapia, and trout).

*** Raw bivalve molluscan shellfish that are (1) covered by the requirements of the National Shellfish Sanitation Program; (2) subject to the requirements of 21 CFR part 123, subpart C, and 21 CFR 1240.60; or (3) covered by a final equivalence determination by FDA for raw bivalve molluscan shellfish are exempt from the requirements of the Food Traceability rule.

• Persons subject to the rule are required to provide information to the FDA within 24 hours. To do this, companies must move away from relying on paper-based, one-up, one-down traceability systems and towards electronic traceability systems. 
• The rule establishes the requirement for a KDE that links the product (Traceability Lot Code) as it moves through the included critical tracking events. Although this rule is for food safety, the Traceability Lot Code improves the efficiency of tracebacks and chain of custody verification.   
• Companies are required to have a Traceability Plan that documents the procedures for maintaining FTL records that describe the data provided within any of the records (e.g., coding systems, glossaries, and abbreviations). Developing a Traceability Plan will require internal coordination and alignment of traceability processes and systems across products, which can streamline and improve efficiencies of internal procedures.

1. Companies should understand what KDEs are required for those “receiving a food on the FTL” (e.g., retailers) and explore the relevant supply chain examples provided by the FDA. 
   • Regardless of wild or farmed harvest origin, retailers will collect the same KDEs as receivers of seafood products (see wild-caught tuna and farmed tilapia examples) 
2. End buyers should continue communications with their seafood suppliers to ensure they can provide the information required for regulatory compliance.
3. End buyers (and their suppliers) should assess their readiness to comply with the Food Traceability Final Rule. For an outline of steps and activities, refer to GS1’s Readiness Checklist (see below). 
   • Create a compliance plan that includes deadlines and outlines responsibilities and key personnel.
   • Internally, coordinate across commodity groups and share lessons learned to encourage efficient data sharing and inform the design of the compliance plan.

Click below for more resources

Updated March 11, 2025

The Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) enhances the transparency and traceability of seafood products entering the U.S. market.  By requiring detailed harvest-level data, including vessel identity, SIMP helps ensure that the imported products in your supply chain are legally sourced and comply with U.S. regulations. This robust data collection not only supports your commitment to responsible sourcing but also strengthens consumer trust and helps avoid the risks associated with illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in your supply chain.

While the importer of record holds the legal responsibility for SIMP compliance, advocating for improvements benefits your company by strengthening the program’s overall effectiveness. With NOAA’s recent action plan to enhance SIMP, efforts are underway to expand traceability requirements to all U.S. seafood imports and enable pre-entry screening of imports. This is a critical time for companies to influence the direction of SIMP and ensure it aligns with industry needs, especially as other regulations like the FDA’s Food Traceability Rule also come into play. Participation in these discussions can help shape a more efficient and transparent regulatory environment that better supports your business operations. Beyond direct regulatory impacts, advocating for strong seafood regulations also helps build a more sustainable industry, enhancing your company’s reputation and trust with consumers and partners.

NOAA has announced an action plan to enhance SIMP, which includes expanding traceability requirements to all U.S. seafood imports and enabling pre-entry screening of imports. As NOAA moves forward with these enhancements, staying informed is essential for adapting sourcing strategies and ensuring compliance. To stay informed, you should monitor industry updates, subscribe to relevant newsletters, and engage in webinars hosted by organizations like FishWise. Additionally, participating in formal comment periods and direct engagement with NOAA will allow your company to contribute to shaping these regulatory changes.

SIMP requires detailed harvest-level data, including vessel identity, to ensure the legality of seafood imports. This contrasts with the FDA’s Food Traceability Rule, which focuses on critical tracking events and requires a Traceability Lot Code for certain seafood products to facilitate rapid tracebacks in case of foodborne illness. While SIMP and FDA Rule 204 have different focuses, aligning your company’s data collection practices across these regulations can help achieve end-to-end traceability, improving both compliance and supply chain transparency.

SIMP provides a foundational layer of compliance by requiring KDEs to verify the legality of seafood imports, but it should not be the only tool your company relies on. Effective seafood regulations like SIMP enhance your company’s due diligence policies by reinforcing traceability efforts, but they work best when integrated into a broader strategy that includes robust internal controls and proactive supply chain transparency(e.g., due diligence frameworks). By combining SIMP with your own traceability initiatives, you ensure a more comprehensive approach to mitigating risks and safeguarding the integrity of your seafood products.