In November 2023, NOAA Fisheries withdrew its proposed rule revising the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) and started a comprehensive review. To “reimagine” the future of SIMP and help define a pathway forward for an efficient and effective seafood traceability-based import control program, the Stimson Center and FishWise co-hosted a series of workshops to crowd source expert ideas and innovations. Attended by representatives from the U.S. Government (7 federal agencies), fishing industry, technology providers, importers, civil society and the European Union, several major themes emerged to improve SIMP. This session will review the key ideas surrounding SIMP 2.0 including: risk targeting and predictive analytics, DASHing forward (Digitize, Analyze, Standardize and Harmonize), key data elements, and the potential for an EU-SIMP hybrid import control model. It will also highlight NOAA Fisheries latest activities on import controls, the regulatory landscape, their new Global Seafood Data System and other actions being taken to prevent IUU and fraudulent fish from entering the U.S. market. In November 2024 NOAA Fisheries issued a new SIMP Action Plan outlining future actions deigned to make SIMP more efficient and effective. Discussion will also focus on trends across the seafood industry and with international governments as actors work to align and combat IUU fishing, seafood fraud, and forced labor in the global seafood supply chain.
