Courtesy of NOAA:
NOAA Fisheries announced that the NOAA Fisheries Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection is now the Office of International Affairs, Trade, and Commerce (IATC). This new name integrates the full scope of office functions and more thoroughly reflects the types of work the office carries out. The name also more accurately and comprehensively reflects the important work of the Seafood Inspection Program in support of trade and commerce.
The office’s responsibilities and efforts have expanded and evolved over the years. The proposed changes address the increasing demands related to trade and commerce policy and analysis, implementation of new and expanding statutory mandates, seafood trade, and IT modernization.
The restructuring aligns the trade functions in NOAA Fisheries to better support the U.S. seafood industry, promote exports, improve seafood competitiveness, and combat IUU fishing. It establishes the Trade and Commerce Division and two new branches within that Division dealing with trade monitoring and trade and commerce policy, respectively. It also combines all of NOAA Fisheries’ trade monitoring functions under one office in order to realize functional and operational efficiencies. This means that the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP), Antarctic Marine Living Resources Program, Highly Migratory Species International Trade Program (HMS), and Tuna Tracking and Verification Program (TTVP) all now sit under the Office of International Affairs, Trade, and Commerce.