Commercial fisheries legislation targeting illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing harvests from entering U.S. markets is moving closer to being signed into law by President Trump.

The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday, April 21, passed the Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvest (FISH) Act out of committee. It next goes to the full House floor.

The Senate has already unanimously passed its version of the FISH Act, authored by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.

The legislation was introduced in the House by Reps. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, and Seth Magaziner, D-R.I.

If signed into law, the FISH Act would establish a public list of fishing vessels and owners involved in illegal fishing and forced labor, and ban those vessels from entering U.S. ports and waters. It would allow seizure of their ships and cargo and block imports of their seafood. It would also target individuals who profit from illegal fishing through complex and opaque layers of corporate ownership, and strengthen American leadership in combating illegal fishing worldwide.

"Illegal fishing strips our oceans, exploits workers, and floods markets with illicit seafood products," said Beth Lowell, vice president of the environmental organization Oceana. "The FISH Act sends a clear message: the United States will not tolerate bad actors or accept seafood tied to destructive illegal fishing or forced labor."

Rachel Rilee, oceans policy specialist at the Center for Biological Diversity, said the legislation could go a long way toward combating illegal fishing and forced labor in the seafood industry, but only if NOAA is fully staffed and funded.

"If Congress is serious about removing illegal seafood from the supply chain, it needs to ensure NOAA has the funding, expertise, and stability to implement this law," she said.