S283-119

What This Bill Does

Requires the NOAA Administrator and the NIST Director, in consultation with CBP and the Coast Guard, to jointly develop a standard chemical-analysis methodology for identifying the country of origin of seafood. The method must support enforcement against illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, work for federal and state law-enforcement needs, minimize processing time, use a field kit one person can carry, and, where practicable, test prepared foods such as ceviche, sashimi, sushi, and poke. The bill requires pilot studies on Gulf red snapper as a stationary stock and bigeye, yellowfin, and bluefin tuna as highly migratory stocks.

Who Benefits and How

NOAA Fisheries enforcement, CBP seafood inspectors, Coast Guard boarding teams, federal and state law-enforcement agencies, domestic red snapper fisheries, domestic tuna fishing operations, and legitimate seafood importers benefit from a stronger tool for detecting seafood whose origin claims do not match chemical signatures. NIST researchers and scientific-testing equipment manufacturers gain a concrete federal methodology-development mandate. Foreign partner maritime forces benefit because DoD may provide shipriders, observers, remote sensing, data analysis, and operational intelligence for IUU fishing and transnational organized crime enforcement.

Who Bears the Burden and How

NIST, NOAA, CBP, and the Coast Guard must develop the method, conduct pilot studies, plan operational deployment, and report to House and Senate committees within two years. Seafood importers face more verification risk once the method is operational, especially when origin claims for red snapper, tuna, or prepared seafood are suspect. Illegal fishing operators face higher detection and interdiction risk. The Department of Defense and Coast Guard bear operational costs if they provide maritime technical assistance to partner nations.

Key Provisions

• Requires NOAA and NIST to develop a standard chemical-analysis method for seafood country-of-origin identification.
• Requires the method to support federal and state IUU fishing enforcement, minimize processing time, and use a one-person portable field kit.
• Requires practicable testing for prepared seafood such as ceviche, sashimi, sushi, and poke.
• Requires pilot studies on red snapper and bigeye, yellowfin, and bluefin tuna.
• Requires a two-year report to Congress with the methodology, operationalization plan, and any impracticability explanations.
• Authorizes DoD, with the Coast Guard, to fund maritime technical assistance to foreign maritime forces combating IUU fishing and transnational organized crime.