Combating Illegal Fishing: Better Information Sharing Could Enhance U.S. Efforts to Target Seafood Imports for Investigation
Fast Facts
The National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Customs and Border Protection collaborate to combat imports of seafood caught via illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
The agencies share information in several ways, including through Border Protection's interagency coordination center. But, NMFS officials reported concerns about getting timely information from Border Protection. For example, an NMFS official told us it may take as long as a week for the agency to get information on a shipment that it might want to inspect—which may be too late.
We recommended that Border Protection ensure that NMFS has timely access to such information.
Highlights
What GAO Found
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) work to combat imports of seafood caught through illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, which comprises many illicit activities (see fig.). For example, NMFS administers four trade monitoring programs that, by regulation, require documentation for imports of specific species. In addition, both agencies manage efforts to identify or “target” seafood imports potentially caught through IUU fishing so that such imports can be investigated or held for further inspection. Targeting efforts can include monitoring incoming seafood imports that fit a pattern of concern, such as importers with past trade violations.
Common Types of Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing
CBP and NMFS share information with each other through several mechanisms, including a data analysis tool and a CBP interagency coordination center. However, NMFS officials report difficulties obtaining timely information from CBP. In particular, NMFS officials told GAO that having to request information through CBP's interagency coordination center limits their ability to get the timely information they need. NMFS officials told us that if they want to inspect an incoming shipment, they need sufficient advance notice to coordinate with CBP. In addition, they said that receiving the information they need from CBP's interagency coordination center, in some cases, could take as long as a week. CBP officials told us that coordinating information requests through its coordination center is important to ensure that such requests do not jeopardize or duplicate ongoing CBP operations, among other reasons. Until CBP works with NMFS to ensure timely access to needed information, both NMFS and CBP may miss opportunities to combat imports of seafood caught through IUU fishing.
Why GAO Did This Study
Many illicit activities, such as using prohibited fishing gear, constitute IUU fishing. Such fishing undermines the economic and environmental sustainability of the fishing industry. The illicit nature of IUU fishing means that the size of the problem can be estimated only roughly. However, the U.S. International Trade Commission estimated that about 11 percent of the value of the nation's approximately $22 billion in seafood imports in 2019 was derived from IUU fishing.
GAO was asked to review federal efforts to combat imports of seafood caught through IUU fishing. This report (1) describes NMFS and CBP efforts to combat such imports; and (2) examines the mechanisms these agencies use to share information on such imports, and related challenges they have identified.
GAO reviewed documents on NMFS and CBP efforts to combat imports of seafood caught through IUU fishing, as well as other relevant agency documents. GAO also interviewed officials from CBP and NMFS at the headquarters and port levels about these efforts and how officials share relevant information on seafood imports.
Recommendations
GAO recommends that CBP work with NMFS to ensure that NMFS has timely access to information that it needs to combat imports of seafood caught through IUU fishing. The Department of Homeland Security concurred with our recommendation.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| United States Customs and Border Protection | The Commissioner of CBP should direct relevant officials to work with NMFS to ensure that NMFS has timely access to information it needs to combat imports of seafood caught through IUU fishing. (Recommendation 1) |
CBP has taken several steps to ensure that NMFS has timely access to information it needs to combat imports of seafood caught through IUU fishing. In particular, CBP worked with NMFS to ensure that NMFS can access the information it needs through CBP's Government Client Manifest Capability (GCMC). For example, CBP provided NMFS with educational training videos on GCMC in September 2023. NMFS and CBP officials also said they subsequently worked together to practice GCMC data queries and compare the results to those from CBP's Automated Targeting System. Both agencies confirmed that NMFS now has the capability to easily search for relevant shipments in real time through GCMC. NMFS and CBP officials said this eliminated the need for sharing data through scheduled data requests and that it reduced NMFS' need for assistance from CBP's Commercial Targeting and Analysis Center (CTAC). In addition, CTAC and NMFS staff have established almost daily consultations and various regularly scheduled meetings between headquarters staff, NMFS personnel from various offices, and CTAC and other CBP offices.
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