FSMA 204 for seafood: what a first land-based receiver must record

If you are the first person to take a seafood on the Food Traceability List onto land from a fishing vessel, FDA calls you the “first land-based receiver.” You must assign a traceability lot code and keep a set of records for each lot: the species, the quantity, when and where it was caught, where you received it, and the date it was landed. The vessel itself does not have to keep these records.

FDA has proposed moving the compliance date from January 20, 2026 to July 20, 2028, and Congress directed FDA not to enforce the rule before that date. FDA says it intends to follow that direction. Check FDA’s rule page for the current date. New to the rule? Start with FSMA 204 in plain English.

Who counts as a first land-based receiver?

21 CFR 1.1310 defines the first land-based receiver as the person taking possession of a food for the first time on land, directly from a fishing vessel. For example, that could be a dock buyer, a processor or a wholesaler. What matters is the role, not the type of business.

The rule uses the Magnuson-Stevens Act definition of a fishing vessel. It covers boats used for fishing and also vessels that support fishing, including by storing, refrigerating, transporting or processing the catch.

Which seafood is covered?

FDA’s Food Traceability List names four seafood groups:

• Finfish, fresh, frozen and previously frozen. This includes histamine-producing species such as tuna and mahi mahi, ciguatoxin-risk species such as grouper and snapper, and cod, haddock, Alaska pollock, salmon, tilapia and trout. Catfish are not included.
• Smoked finfish, refrigerated, frozen and previously frozen.
• Crustaceans, such as shrimp, crab, lobster and crayfish.
• Bivalve molluscan shellfish, such as oysters, clams and mussels. Scallop adductor muscle is not included.

Our guide to which foods are on the list covers the other categories.

What records must you keep, and who assigns the lot code?

21 CFR 1.1335 asks for these records for each traceability lot, linked to that lot:

1. The traceability lot code you assigned
2. The species or acceptable market name for unpackaged food, or the product description for packaged food
3. The quantity and unit of measure
4. The harvest date range and locations for the trip on which the food was caught
5. A description of your location as the receiver, plus a lot code source reference if applicable
6. The date the food was landed
7. The reference document type and number

For harvest locations, the rule allows the NMFS Ocean Geographic Code, the FAO Major Fishing Area list, or another widely recognized standard. Pick one and use it every time, so the entries sort cleanly in a spreadsheet.

Do you assign the lot code?

Yes. 21 CFR 1.1320 says you must assign a traceability lot code when you perform the first land-based receiving of a food obtained from a fishing vessel. The same section says you must not create a new code for other activities, such as shipping. Your code travels with the lot until someone transforms it. For ideas on building one, see traceability lot codes: how to assign them.

Because the vessel is not covered by the rule, you will need to get the harvest dates and locations from the vessel yourself, so ask for them when you buy. Put the request in your purchase terms or your receiving checklist, and file the answer with the landing record.

What happens when you ship the lot?

Once you ship, 21 CFR 1.1340 applies. You keep a shipping record and give the next recipient, in electronic, paper or other written form:

• The traceability lot code
• The quantity and unit of measure
• The product description
• The recipient’s location and the location you shipped from
• The ship date
• The location of the lot code source, or a reference to it

That means your own receiving record is the start of the chain. A buyer downstream is relying on your lot code and source reference being right. Our post on distributors and warehouses covers the receiving and shipping side.

What is exempt?

Several exemptions in 21 CFR 1.1305 matter for seafood:

• The vessel’s owner, operator or agent in charge is not covered. Downstream handlers also fall outside the full rule until the vessel’s owner, operator or agent sells the food. While they are exempt, those who must register with FDA still keep records of the immediate previous source and next recipient for 2 years.
• Raw bivalve molluscan shellfish covered by the National Shellfish Sanitation Program, or by a final FDA equivalence determination, are exempt.
• Small aquaculture operations are exempt when their average annual sales and held or processed commodities over the previous three years total no more than $25,000, adjusted for inflation from a 2020 baseline.

Exemptions have conditions, so read the section for your case. Our exemptions guide walks through the common ones.

How fast must you produce the records?

Under 21 CFR 1.1455, you must give FDA the records within 24 hours of a request, or within a reasonable time FDA has agreed to. For an outbreak or recall request, you provide an electronic sortable spreadsheet and any information needed to understand it. Some smaller businesses, each below a sales threshold set in the rule, may provide the information in another form. Records are kept for two years after you create or acquire them. See the 24-hour sortable spreadsheet and record retention.

A quick check for a landing day

1. Do you capture the species or market name and the quantity at the dock?
2. Do you have the harvest date range and fishing area for the trip, from the vessel?
3. Is the landing date written down, not assumed from the receipt date?
4. Is a lot code assigned and written on every box or tote?
5. Does the shipping paperwork carry that code and your source reference?

Where Lotcrumb fits

Lotcrumb is being built to pull landing details and lot codes from the receiving paperwork you already use and line them up for a sortable spreadsheet. Join the waitlist for early access.

This guide is general information, not legal or regulatory advice. Whether and how the rule applies to your operation depends on the facts, so confirm it with FDA’s guidance or a qualified food safety professional.