To get a reduction of illegal fishing
The declines are "really troubling to see when we have these issues of illegal fish and seafood fraud," said Beth Lowell, campaign director at Oceana, a conservation group that has found high levels of seafood fraud across the U.S. "You can't put one guy on a boat and expect to find a problem. To get a reduction of illegal fishing and seafood fraud, you need to be able to track a network of criminal activity."
Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, who chairs the Appropriations Committee, noted that President Obama has asked several federal agencies, including NOAA, to develop a plan for cracking down on seafood fraud and black-market fishing. That task force is expected to release recommendations this week.
Mikulski, a Maryland Democrat, said in a statement, "As the President moves ahead with his task force on combating seafood fraud I will be looking to see how NOAA's resources are best used to balance domestic fisheries enforcement — which are important for keeping our national fisheries sustainable — with that of the important work of investigating cases of international seafood fraud."
Seafood fraud is a widespread and lucrative enterprise. About 25 percent of all wild-caught seafood imports are part of the illicit trade, according to a study published this year in the journal Marine Policy. Those illegal imports are worth $1.3 billion to $2.1 billion annually across the United States, the world's second-largest importer of seafood.