[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 112 (Wednesday, July 25, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1327-E1328]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       INTRODUCTION SAFETY AND FRAUD ENFORCEMENT FOR SEAFOOD ACT

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                         HON. EDWARD J. MARKEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 25, 2012

  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, in my home state of Massachusetts, 
commercial fishermen take pride in the product they bring to the dock. 
Whether they harvest cod, lobster, or scallops, these hardworking 
Americans provide consumers with superior quality seafood. 
Unfortunately, getting a fair price for this seafood has become a 
challenge. Competition from low quality imported fish and shellfish 
drives down prices, especially when these imports are passed off on 
consumers as higher value species.

[[Page E1328]]

  Unfortunately, this occurs far too frequently. Last fall, an 
investigation by the Boston Globe found that 48 percent of the seafood 
it sampled from grocery stores and restaurants in the Boston area was 
not the species that was advertised. Subsequent investigations in Los 
Angeles and Miami this year produced similar results. These shocking 
revelations of seafood fraud have exposed a severe shortcoming in the 
ability of our nation to ensure the integrity of seafood products 
offered for sale, especially the 85 percent of those products that come 
from abroad.
  In addition to problems with seafood fraud uncovered by these recent 
reports, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported last 
year that we are doing a terrible job ensuring that seafood imported 
into this country is safe for people to consume. GAO found that the 
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is responsible for 
ensuring seafood safety, inspects only 2 percent of seafood shipments, 
and that failure to coordinate with the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Seafood Inspection Service has led 
to hundreds of redundant inspections. This unnecessary duplication of 
effort is unacceptable, especially as difficult fiscal circumstances 
have squeezed the budgets of both agencies.
  The Safety And Fraud Enforcement for Seafood Act, or SAFE Seafood 
Act--which I am introducing today along with Mr. Frank and Mr. Keating 
of Massachusetts, Mr. Jones of North Carolina, and Mr. Courtney of 
Connecticut--addresses the seafood safety problem by ensuring that FDA 
and NOAA work together to maximize the frequency and effectiveness of 
seafood inspections, and to prevent unsafe seafood from entering the 
United States. In addition, it combats seafood fraud by requiring that 
information such as harvest location, production method, and species 
name of the seafood stays with that product from sea to sale. The SAFE 
Seafood Act accomplishes these goals by holding violators accountable 
with fines and import restrictions if they don't play by the rules.
  American consumers have an expectation that the seafood they buy for 
their families is, in fact, the seafood that is advertised, and that it 
is safe for them to eat. Similarly, American fishermen, who comply with 
the most rigorous conservation and quality control standards anywhere 
in the world, should know they are competing on a level playing field, 
and not being undercut by an inferior foreign product. Fraudulent and 
unsafe seafood takes money from consumers and puts their health at 
risk. The SAFE Seafood Act is an important step toward reducing seafood 
fraud and increasing seafood safety. We owe it to American families and 
fishermen to address these problems immediately.

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