Seafood import Monitoring Program (SIMP) establishes permitting, reporting, and record-keeping requirements for imports of certain seafood products. On December 31, 2018, it will be mandatory for shrimp and abalone products entering the U.S. to be accompanied by harvest and landing data and for importers to maintain chain of custody records.
Under SIMP, an International Fisheries Trade Permit (IFTP) will need to be acquired. An IFTP holder must be an individual or a company with a U.S. address. Brokers that do not have a U.S. address will need to work with an IFTP holder to import product subject to SIMP requirements. The IFTP holder is responsible for retaining chain of custody records for two years and for readily producing those records in the event of an audit.
Under SIMP, NOAA Fisheries requires name and flag state of the harvesting vessel(s); evidence of authorization to fish (farm business or license number); unique vessel identifier (e.g. IMO number); fishing gear used; species; landing date; product form, quantity and weight at landing; area of harvest or capture; point of first landing, and entity to which fish was landed or delivered. This information is required for all imports of species under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes covered by SIMP.
For questions and technical assistance, please contact SIMP support by email (SIMPsupport@noaa.gov) or the toll-free line (833.440.6599). The SIMP support team can set up a call or webinar with your company to walk through the requirements if helpful.
Additional resources are available on the SIMP website under Resources Materials.