Introduction Safety and Fraud Enforcement for Seafood Act

Floor Speech

Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, in my home state of Massachusetts, commercial fishermen take pride in the product they bring to the dock. Whether they harvest cod, lobster, or scallops, these hardworking Americans provide consumers with superior quality seafood. Unfortunately, getting a fair price for this seafood has become a challenge. Competition from low quality imported fish and shellfish drives down prices, especially when these imports are passed off on consumers as higher value species.

Unfortunately, this occurs far too frequently. Last fall, an investigation by the Boston Globe found that 48 percent of the seafood it sampled from grocery stores and restaurants in the Boston area was not the species that was advertised. Subsequent investigations in Los Angeles and Miami this year produced similar results. These shocking revelations of seafood fraud have exposed a severe shortcoming in the ability of our nation to ensure the integrity of seafood products offered for sale, especially the 85 percent of those products that come from abroad.

In addition to problems with seafood fraud uncovered by these recent reports, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported last year that we are doing a terrible job ensuring that seafood imported into this country is safe for people to consume. GAO found that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is responsible for ensuring seafood safety, inspects only 2 percent of seafood shipments, and that failure to coordinate with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Seafood Inspection Service has led to hundreds of redundant inspections. This unnecessary duplication of effort is unacceptable, especially as difficult fiscal circumstances have squeezed the budgets of both agencies.

The Safety And Fraud Enforcement for Seafood Act, or SAFE Seafood Act--which I am introducing today along with Mr. FRANK and Mr. KEATING of Massachusetts, Mr. JONES of North Carolina, and Mr. COURTNEY of Connecticut--addresses the seafood safety problem by ensuring that FDA and NOAA work together to maximize the frequency and effectiveness of seafood inspections, and to prevent unsafe seafood from entering the United States. In addition, it combats seafood fraud by requiring that information such as harvest location, production method, and species name of the seafood stays with that product from sea to sale. The SAFE Seafood Act accomplishes these goals by holding violators accountable with fines and import restrictions if they don't play by the rules.

American consumers have an expectation that the seafood they buy for their families is, in fact, the seafood that is advertised, and that it is safe for them to eat. Similarly, American fishermen, who comply with the most rigorous conservation and quality control standards anywhere in the world, should know they are competing on a level playing field, and not being undercut by an inferior foreign product. Fraudulent and unsafe seafood takes money from consumers and puts their health at risk. The SAFE Seafood Act is an important step toward reducing seafood fraud and increasing seafood safety. We owe it to American families and fishermen to address these problems immediately.

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