GAO Claims Seafood Fraud Fostered by Federal Inefficiency

A new U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report claims that a lack of cooperation among federal agencies has contributed to an increase in seafood supply chain fraud. GAO faults Customs and Border Protection, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Food and Drug Administration for failing to agree on key roles and responsibilities, identify a common goal, and establish joint strategies. “As a result, the agencies have not taken advantage of opportunities to share information that could benefit each agency’s efforts to detect and prevent seafood fraud, nor have they identified similar and sometimes overlapping activities that could be better coordinated to use limited resources more efficiently,” the report states. See foodproductiondaily.com, March 25, 2009.