The National Marine Fisheries Service's December 9, 2016 seafood rule combined three tools: an annually renewable International Fisheries Trade Permit, harvest information submitted at entry, and retained supply-chain records. They were related but not interchangeable. The importer of record carried the duties for covered species and products; the rule did not create one identical filing requirement for all seafood worldwide. [2016-29324][2016-02216]

The proposal published February 5 had already described a permit-and-documentation system tracing imports from harvest into U.S. commerce. It proposed using the International Trade Data System and its Automated Commercial Environment, or ACE, filing channel. The final used that infrastructure for seafood information. This was a harvest-traceability measure, not the launch of a separate general-purpose customs platform. [2016-29324][2016-02216]

Under the final provisions, entry information and chain-of-custody records had to be retained for two years from import and made available for inspection. Retention did not mean electronically submitting every custody document at entry. Aggregated harvest reports were permitted, and the rule did not demand a link between each portion of a shipment and a particular harvest event. Certain products lacking feasible species or harvest identification were excluded. [2016-29324][2016-02216]

The published effective date was January 9, 2017. January 1, 2018 was the compliance date for the initial listed species; shrimp and abalone awaited further agency action. Earlier harvest did not exempt a later covered entry from needing records. These are historical boundaries from one proposal-and-final rulemaking chain, not evidence of successful enforcement or a statement of present requirements. [2016-29324][2016-02216]

Source documents

  1. Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Seafood Import Monitoring Programhttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2016-12-09/html/2016-29324.htm
  2. Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Seafood Import Monitoring Programhttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2016-02-05/html/2016-02216.htm