NMFS Proposes to Add More Species to SIMP, Clarify Importer of Record Requirements

The National Marine Fisheries Service is proposing to expand its Seafood Import Monitoring Program requirements to cover additional species, as well as amend the SIMP regulations to clarify the responsibilities of the importer of record, it said in a notice released Dec. 27. Comments on the proposal are due March 28.

The proposed rule would add five species groups to SIMP: all species of snapper (Lutjanidae), eels (Anguilla spp.), squid and cuttlefish, octopus, the queen conch (family Strombidae) and the Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus). It would also expand SIMP to cover all species marked or described as tuna that aren’t already covered by the requirements, including slender tuna, bullet tuna, frigate tuna, kawakawa, spotted tunny, black skipjack tuna, blackfin tuna, longtail tuna, bonito, escolar and yellowtail tuna.

The NMFS said that, if the rule is finalized, there would be about 487 new applicants for the IFTP under the SIMP expansion.

The NMFS is also proposing to amend the SIMP regulations to clarify that the importer of record for customs entry filing and the International Fisheries Trade Permit holder must be the same entity. Another change would clarify that, while only U.S. residents may apply for an IFTP, a resident agent of a nonresident corporation may also apply.

A new paragraph would also be added to a section of the SIMP regulations on “prohibitions” to specify that it is prohibited to submit an entry filing that includes an IFTP number assigned by the NMFS to an entity other than the importer of record. “SIMP audits have revealed that, in many cases, a third party (e.g., the U.S. purchaser of the seafood) has allowed their IFTP number to be used by a foreign importer of record, even though this is not allowed under the SIMP regulations,” the NMFS said.

The proposed rule would amend importer recordkeeping requirements to specify that “paper or electronic copies of all chain of custody documentation required under this subpart, and all supporting records upon which an entry filing or export declaration is made, must be maintained by the importer of record or the exporting principal party in interest as applicable, and made available for inspection, at the importer's/exporter's place of business for a period of two years from the date of the import, export, or reexport,” the NMFS said. The relevant section of the SIMP regulations currently only says that the importer must “retain records of the information reported at entry” for two years.

The amended recordkeeping requirements also would say that the records must be provided electronically within five days of an NMFS request or audit notification, or on paper within 10 days, unless otherwise specified by the NMFS.

The proposed rule would clarify that SIMP requirements would also apply to product coming into the Pacific Insular Area as defined by the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Product moved from the Pacific Insular Area to any place within the customs territory of the U.S. also would be subject to all SIMP requirements.

The proposed rule also would add more detailed criteria for qualifying for the SIMP aggregated harvest report exemption under a “small-scale harvest accommodation as a record made at a single collection point on a single calendar day for aggregated catches by multiple small-scale fishing operations.”

Finally, the NMFS is also seeking comments on “whether to consider a standardized ‘SIMP Form’ that would build on the current sample model forms to create a required document that encompasses all traceability elements required under the program,” the NMFS said. Though industry had requested one, the NMFS had declined to include the standard form when it first set SIMP program requirements “due to potential duplication with existing forms, especially those required by Regional Fisheries Management Organizations.”

“If NMFS ultimately determines to pursue a standardized form, further rulemaking may be required, including justifying any duplicate information collection, as well as associated analysis and/or processes consistent with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, Paperwork Reduction Act and other applicable requirements,” the agency said.