US shrimpers call for investigation of uneven enforcement of import restrictions related to turtle-excluder device use

Published 2024년 9월 13일

Tridge summary

Two U.S. shrimp trade groups, the Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA) and the Port Arthur Area Shrimpers’ Association (PAASA), have called on the U.S. State Department to more consistently enforce a rule banning shrimp imports from countries not certified for using turtle-excluder devices (TEDs). They claim that the Section 609 program, established in 1989, is not uniformly enforced, allowing countries like Peru and Guatemala to export shrimp to the U.S. without complying with TED requirements. The groups have requested the suspension of these countries' certifications and emphasized the need for stricter enforcement to enhance global fishing practices and protect endangered sea turtles.

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Original content

Two trade groups representing U.S. shrimpers have requested the U.S. State Department more evenly enforce a rule prohibiting imports from countries that have not received certification they have required their wild-catch shrimp sectors to use of turtle-excluder devices.The Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA) and the Port Arthur Area Shrimpers’ Association (PAASA) said the federal government’s Section 609 program, made law in 1989, requires the U.S. State Department and NOAA Fisheries to certify foreign countries or fisheries as being in compliance with domestic requirements on the usage of turtle-excluder devices (TEDs), which allow turtles to escape from shrimp-trawler nets. The certification makes them eligible to export wild-caught shrimp to the U.S. market. However, enforcement of Section 609 has been uneven and is often lax, according to Southern Shrimp Alliance Executive Director John Williams.“The Section 609 program proves that access to our market can be used to improve the ...

Source: Seafoodsource