We Cannot Overlook the Negative Unintended Consequences of the "Let Them Spawn" Bill (HB-483) | Eastern North Carolina Now

    WHAT CAN YOU DO? (Sitting back is NOT an option!)

    (1) CALL and/or EMAIL Senate leader Phil Berger (Office: (919) 733-5708 Email: Phil.Berger@ncleg.net) and as many NC senators as you can and let them know that you OPPOSE the bill and trust that they will vote against it. If they say they are not sure how to vote, then convince them that the issue needs to be studied and that time MUST be given to do so, in order that a bad bill is not passed which will harm an industry vital to North Carolina. [To find contact information for members of the NC Senate, go to www.ncleg.net, click on "SENATE" from the top menu, and using the drop-down menu, select "Member List.

    (2) SIGN THE PETITION - http://chng.it/BRMD2Mhr7R or

    (3) Visit the NC Legislature in person and speak with our state senators in person, expressing your opposition to the bill. Try to do so in groups.

    (4) SHARE THIS ARTICLE, and the posts on the Coastal Carolina Taxpayers Association Facebook page on this topic with as many people you can to educate folks on this topic, including seafood restaurants. They need to get involved.

    (5) Come out to the NC Legislature to hear Dr. David Veal. David Veal, PhD, Executive Director of the American Shrimp Processors Association, has compiled data and information detailing the risks and dangers from imported seafood and is so motivated by what he believes is the need and absolute duty of state government to be educated on this topic and the need and absolute duty of authorities to make this information available to the public that he has been willing,, on his own dime, to share his information and to make presentations to legislatures to accomplish that goal. When Dr. Veal made a similar presentation to the Louisiana state legislature, they were concerned enough to pass a law requiring restaurants to disclose to its patrons, and markets to its customers, the country-of-origin of the seafood it is selling. Realizing that North Carolina already faces health risks regarding the imported seafood that it sells, and realizing that HB-483 will make it harder for NC fishermen to provide fresh, locally-caught (and drug/antibiotic-free) seafood to North Carolina markets and restaurants, it only makes sense that the health risks will only become amplified.

    (6) JOIN the Coastal Carolina Taxpayers Association (CCTA, headed by Hal James and Rick Hopkins), the Crystal Coast Tea Party Patriots (headed by Bob Cavanaugh and Ken Lang), the NC Republican Men's Club Federation (headed by Bob Pruett), or the Eastern NC Tea Party (headed by me) to become ACTIVISTS rather than mere party club members, workers, or cheerleaders. Help our groups to maintain a respectful and working relationship with legislators, to keep an eye on our local and state governments, to help promote transparency in the bills they propose and vote for, and to be a strong voice for conservative values in government. Remember, as long as no one is looking or keeping an eye on the General Assembly, they will continue to sneak bad legislation past us. They will continue to curry favor with special interest groups and to pursue and promote their issues over ours.

HbAD0

    TAKE ACTION TODAY !!!

    References:

    HB-483 ("LET THEM SPAWN"), text - https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2019/Bills/House/PDF/H483v4.pdf

    Jerry Schill, "The NC House Caves Once Again to Big Money Lobbyists, This Time to Harm our State's Commercial Fisherman, June 22, 2019. Referenced at: https://forloveofgodandcountry.com/2019/06/23/the-nc-house-once-again-caves-to-big-money-lobbyists-this-time-to-harm-our-states-commercial-fisherman/

    Jake Worthington, Petition to the NC Senate Opposing HB-483 - http://chng.it/BRMD2Mhr7R

    "Imported Seafood Safety Program," FDA, updated 11/24/2017. Referenced at: https://www.fda.gov/food/importing-food-products-united-states/imported-seafood-safety-program

    "Imports and Exports: How Safe is Seafood from foreign Sources?" Food Safety News, Nov. 2013. Referenced at: https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/11/imports-and-exports-how-safe-is-seafood-from-foreign-sources/

    "Imported Seafood Safety: FDA and USDA Could Strengthen Efforts to Prevent Unsafe Drug Residues," GAO (US Government Accountability Office), October 2, 2017. Referenced at: https://www.gao.gov/mobile/products/GAO-17-443

    "New Rules for Shrimp Trawls Effective July 1," Coastal Review Online - https://www.coastalreview.org/2019/04/new-rules-for-shrimp-trawls-effective-july-1/

    "Shrimp Rise as Overall North Carolina Commercial Catch Dips," Nation & World, June 17, 2018. Referenced at: https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/apxshrimp-rise-as-overall-north-carolina-commercial-catch-dips/

    I. APPENDIX - Facts about Imported Seafood

    (1) Most seafood consumed in the United States is imported, and about half of it is raised on fish farms. Imported seafood, in general, accounts for over 90% of US seafood demand, with shrimp being the largest consumed seafood. (Tilapia is second; three-quarters of the tilapia we eat in this country comes from China). China, India and Vietnam are the top three aquaculture producers in the world today. Because farmed seafood is raised in confined areas and susceptible to infections, farmers may use drugs like antibiotics. The use of unapproved drugs or the misuse of approved drugs may result in unsafe residues in seafood that can cause cancer, allergic reactions, or an unexplained decline in health. While the FDA recognizes this risk, it is able to test only a very small percent of the seafood imported into the country. And while countries like Great Britain and other EU countries would require destruction of seafood testing positive for contaminants, the US FDA does not require such.

    (2) Shrimp is the number-one seafood import to the U.S. market, with most of that product coming from Asia and Ecuador. The US imports between 90-94% of the shrimp sold in its states. That means that of all the shrimp sold in North Carolina, with its greater demand for seafood meals (a coastal state), either in markets or as a sumptuous meal served by its restaurants, 90-94% is imported.

    (3) Because approximately 90% of the seafood, in general, that we consume is imported (with about half of that farm-raised), those who eat it are exposed to whatever level of safety practices exist in the exporting country and onward. A chain of potential risk follows from the catch to the processing facility, to the ships, trains or trucks bringing the seafood here, and to subsequent handling of the product at stores, fish markets, restaurants and in-home kitchens. Recent recalls of imported seafood and associated foodborne illness outbreaks have combined to raise concerns about how safe it is to consume. There are bacterial hazards such as Vibrio (a parasite) in raw oysters, as well as mercury in fish and adulterants in feed and other contamination tied to industrial pollution. Recent imported seafood recalls have involved processed products such as smoked salmon, herring, and other fish products from Asia and Africa for potential Listeria and Clostridium botulinum (both are bacteria) contamination and for inadequate processing. Contaminants are a growing concern. A recent North Carolina study revealed that one-quarter of the seafood imported from Asia and available at retail outlets in that state had detectable levels of formaldehyde. In China, several antibiotics have been found in farm-raised fish such as tilapia, including leuco-malachite green, which FDA banned for aquaculture use in 1983 because of "serious toxicity." The widespread use of antibiotics and other illegal veterinary drugs used in aquaculture ponds, in fact, has created a serious threat to global public health. For example, five of the veterinary drugs found in imported seafood - chloramphenicol, flouroquinolones, gentian violet, malachite green, and nitrofurans - are commonly used in shrimp aquaculture. [A 2014 Louisiana State University study found that 92% of imported shrimp for sale in that state, also a coastal state, tested positive for illegal and toxic drug residues]. Additionally, the intake of antibiotics when the body has no infections to fight creates the very real possibility of generating antibiotic resistance. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) prevents common drugs from treating common drugs from treating microorganisms (bacteria, fungus, virus, or parasite). When the FDA does outbreak alerts, seafood has the highest level of illness per consumption of any of the food that it tracks. [https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/11/imports-and-exports-how-safe-is-seafood-from-foreign-sources/%5D

HbAD1

    (4) A 2010 survey reported by SeaFood Business Magazine showed that, for American consumers, seafood safety was the most important factor and trumped other concerns about sustainability (wild-caught vs. farm-raised), type of seafood or even price.

    (5) The health hazards posed by imported seafood are insidious because the public does not even know about its risks. The United States International Trade Commission found that 80% of shrimp consumption occurs at the restaurant level. Seafood country-of-origin labeling (COOL) exists at the retail level but it is absent at the restaurant level where most shrimp consumption occurs. And even with the requirements of COOL, labeling at the retail label has been shown to be frustrated by mislabeling and fraud. In fact, both are commonplace throughout retail outlets in the US. A 2018 report by the New York State Attorney General's Office uncovered widespread seafood fraud and mislabeling at the retail level. The investigation found that more than one in four (26.92%) seafood purchases was mislabeled and that many samples (27.59%) labelled as "wild" were in fact farm-raised. Another 2018 study of seafood samples from 287 restaurants, grocery stores, and seafood markets in 27 cities across the United States found that 21% were mislabeled. 80% of the shrimp in the US is consumed at the restaurant level, where country-of-origin is not required. Consumers are not even nearly protected from health risks associated with imported shrimp or other seafood.

    II. APPENDIX - History

    The Fisheries Reform Act was passed in 1997 after months of studies and extensive debate with stakeholders. It was a compromise document with most participants grudgingly accepting the outcome. Governor Jim Hunt signed it into law.

    The FRA set up a process that included a 9-member Marine Fisheries Commission all appointed by the Governor to set policy, and the bureaucratic arm, the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) to carry it out. DMF was under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) but that name was changed to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The taxpayers fund the folks to manage fisheries, and the MFC and DMF are charged under the Fisheries Reform Act to adopt Fishery Management Plans for each species. Those plans are to be reviewed and amended as needed. So why HB-483 when plans can be established, on need-only basis, by the authority of the Fisheries Reform Act?Jake Worthington, Petition to the NC Senate Opposing HB-483 - http://chng.it/BRMD2Mhr7R
Go Back



Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias
Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published)
Enter Your Comment ( no code or urls allowed, text only please )




SBA Approves Governor Cooper’s Request for Disaster Declaration Local News & Expression, Editorials, For Love of God and Country, Op-Ed & Politics General Assembly Passes $24 Billion Compromise Budget, Governor Likely to Veto

HbAD2

 
Back to Top