Congressional Research Service
Climate Impact & Sustainability Data (2024)
Reporting Period: 2024
Environmental Metrics
ESG Focus Areas
- Environmental
- Social
- Governance
Environmental Achievements
- Implementation of the U.S. Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) to prevent imported IUU fish and fish products from entering U.S. commerce.
- Greater than 90% reduction of IUU fishing for Patagonian toothfish in the Antarctic region due to actions taken by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.
Social Achievements
- Various efforts to combat human trafficking and forced labor associated with IUU fishing, including investigations and reports to Congress.
Governance Achievements
- Establishment of the Interagency Working Group on IUU Fishing to coordinate a whole-of-government approach to combat IUU fishing globally.
- Passage of several laws addressing IUU fishing, including the Maritime Security and Fisheries Enforcement Act and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006.
Climate Goals & Targets
Environmental Challenges
- Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing threatens national, regional, and global security.
- IUU fishing harms legitimate commercial fishing, undermines scientifically informed fisheries management, and threatens local and regional food and economic security.
- Limited enforcement and patchy regulations on the high seas enable IUU fishing activities.
- Fisheries subsidies contribute to overcapacity and overfishing.
- Flags of convenience make it challenging to track vessels engaged in IUU fishing.
- Association of IUU fishing with transnational crimes such as human trafficking and forced labor.
Mitigation Strategies
- Passage of U.S. laws to address IUU fishing, including the Maritime SAFE Act and the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
- Implementation of international agreements such as the 1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement, the Port State Measures Agreement, and the Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean.
- Establishment of the Interagency Working Group on IUU Fishing.
- Use of technologies such as vessel monitoring systems (VMS) and automatic identification systems (AIS) to track vessels.
- International cooperation and partnerships to enhance enforcement and capacity building.
- Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) to screen and deter IUU seafood imports.
Supply Chain Management
Supplier Audits: Over 3,900 audits of seafood imports from January 2018 through September 2023 under SIMP.
Responsible Procurement
- Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP)