--- title: "Coming in 2023: Enhanced Seafood Imports Screening for Forced Labor Risk" description: New regulations are coming in 2023 to enhance screening of seafood imports for forced labor risks, impacting how companies source seafood. Learn what this means for your business. image: https://goldfish.io/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/photo-1603119761708-9252f043c139-Sep-10-2024-06-36-32-2966-PM.jpeg --- [![Goldfish\_Logo\_Black](https://goldfish.io/hubfs/Goldfish%20Logos/Goldfish_Logo_Black.svg)](https://goldfish.io) - Products - [Goldfish platform](https://goldfish.io/platform) - [Data Services](https://goldfish.io/products/api) - Solutions - [Supply Chain](https://goldfish.io/solutions/companies) - [Government](https://goldfish.io/solutions/government) - [Research](https://goldfish.io/solutions/research) - [Plans](https://goldfish.io/plans) - [Blog](https://goldfish.io/blog) - [About](https://goldfish.io/team) [Login](https://next.goldfish.io) [Book a Demo](https://goldfish.io/demo) News Breakdowns # Coming in 2023: Enhanced Seafood Imports Screening for Forced Labor Risk New regulations are coming in 2023 to enhance screening of seafood imports for forced labor risks, impacting how companies source seafood. Learn what this means for your business. [Celeste Leroux](https://goldfish.io/blog/author/celeste) Jun 28, 2023 --- It is illegal to import goods produced using forced labor, but screening for violations is easier said than done. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP)’s main tool for restricting seafood imports at risk of labor violations is [Withhold Release Orders](https://www.cbp.gov/trade/forced-labor/withhold-release-orders-and-findings?ref=blog.goldfish.io). CBP has issued a handful of these targeting specific fishing vessels in recent years, which are easy enough to check if you know where to look (or you can let Goldfish take care of this for you). That status quo changed on December 23, 2022 when President Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law. It began a one year clock for the government start applying “predictive analytics” (their words) to screen seafood imports for risk of forced labor violations. The NDAA directs the government to use a number of specific reports in it's decision-making, including: 1. Trafficking in Persons Report (Department of State); 2. List of Goods Produced with Child and Forced Labor (Department of Labor); and 3. reports to Congress on the High Seas Driftnet Moratorium Protection Act (Department of Commerce). Nobody knows what the consequence of trying to import seafood from countries identified in these reports will be; but the bill gave US Customs and Border Protection an additional $25 million to implement this section of the bill so it is reasonable to expect changes are on the horizon. In light of this uncertainty, we believe that companies should be able to decide for themselves if these labor risk criteria are a factor they want to consider in sourcing. Before the deadline later this year, Goldfish will be able to detect if your import might be considered ‘at risk’ for labor violations by the US government. All of our checks are optional, so you can turn this function off if it isn’t a concern. Our only objective is to help you implement the right choices for your company. ### **Nerding Out: What does defense spending have to do with fisheries?** Defense spending has nothing to do with fisheries, the NDAA was just a ‘vessel of opportunity’, to borrow a phrase from our friends in the maritime sector. The NDAA falls into an unofficial category of [must-pass bills](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Must_pass_bill?ref=blog.goldfish.io) because they authorize important government activities. Sometimes legislators are allowed to add amendments, which are usually low-controversy sections of other bills that are not likely to become law on their own. That is exactly what happened here - the 2023 NDAA saw over 1,000 amendments introduced and ended up at a whopping 4,438 pages long! duced and ended up at a whopping 4,438 pages long! [News Breakdowns](https://goldfish.io/blog/tag/news-breakdowns) ## Read More Deep Dives ### [How the US is Handling its Updated Russian Seafood Ban](https://goldfish.io/blog/how-the-us-is-handling-its-updated-russian-seafood-ban) US updates its Russian seafood ban, focusing on key species and requiring importer self-certification to ensure compliance. Learn about the new... Celeste Leroux Jan 2, 2024 Deep Dives ### [Why We Can't Stop Buying Russian Seafood](https://goldfish.io/blog/why-we-cant-stop-buying-russian-seafood) Why the US still imports Russian seafood despite bans. Explore how loopholes in trade regulations allow Russian-harvested seafood into US markets and... Celeste Leroux Oct 3, 2023 Deep Dives ### [Biden’s Second Attempt to Ban Russian Seafood is Here... but Will it Work This Time?](https://goldfish.io/blog/bidens-second-attempt-to-ban-russian-seafood-is-here...-but-will-it-work-this-time) Biden's new Executive Order aims to close loopholes in the Russian seafood import ban, impacting global seafood exports to the US. Will it be... Celeste Leroux Dec 22, 2023 ## Stay in the loop ##### Join our mailing list [![Goldfish\_Logomark\_White](https://goldfish.io/hs-fs/hubfs/Goldfish_Logomark_White.png?width=40&height=40&name=Goldfish_Logomark_White.png "Goldfish_Logomark_White")](https://goldfish.io) Products [Goldfish platform](https://goldfish.io/platform) [API](https://goldfish.io/products/api) [Free tools](https://goldfish.io/lookup) Solutions [Companies](https://goldfish.io/solutions/companies) [Research](https://goldfish.io/solutions/research) [Government](https://goldfish.io/solutions/government) [Plans](https://goldfish.io/plans) [Demo](https://goldfish.io/demo) [Contact](https://goldfish.io/team#contact) [Blog](https://goldfish.io/blog) © 2026 Goldfish Inc. ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Celeste Leroux", "url" : "https://goldfish.io/blog/author/celeste" }, "dateModified" : "2024-09-13T13:41:12.840Z", "datePublished" : "2023-06-28T04:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Coming in 2023: Enhanced Seafood Imports Screening for Forced Labor Risk", "image" : [ "https://goldfish.io/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/photo-1603119761708-9252f043c139-Sep-10-2024-06-36-32-2966-PM.jpeg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://goldfish.io/blog/coming-in-2023-enhanced-seafood-imports-screening-for-forced-labor-risk", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://goldfish.io/hubfs/Goldfish_Logo_Black.svg" }, "name" : "Goldfish Inc." } } ```