There may be good news on the horizon for U.S. fishermen if Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., can get legislation passed that would add “economic cause” as a trigger for economic relief for industries affected by low-priced imports.
Currently, under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, fishermen affected by natural or manmade disasters like hurricanes or oil spills are eligible for federal relief. But American shrimp fishermen, whose industry has lost half its value since 2021 due to imports, according to the Southern Shrimp Alliance, have no protection as their livelihoods collapse.
If passed, Mace’s “Protect American Fisheries Act of 2025” would expand NOAA’s Fishery Resource Disaster Assistance Program and allow states to formally request a fishery resource disaster determination in cases such as the U.S. shrimp fishery.
Mace’s legislation is one example of efforts ramping up to protect the domestic seafood industry. Her bill coincides with the National Marine Fisheries Service’s limited ban on seafood imports from countries that do not have marine mammal protections equivalent to those in the U.S. On the state level, after work by SeaD Consulting revealed that many restaurants and seafood markets were selling cheap imported shrimp and salmon as domestic wild-caught, many states have increased enforcement of labeling laws and penalties for mislabeling products.
In the Senate, the day before Mace introduced her legislation, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., introduced a bill that would force Customs and Border Protection to distribute $38.5 million in interest tied to antidumping duties on Chinese imports, including $10.6 million earmarked for crawfish producers.
But organizations like the National Fisheries Institute have sought to stop some of these actions, such as the ban on imports from countries with inadequate regulations for marine mammal protection. The NFI sued NOAA to stop the ban, pointing out that U.S. producers cannot meet demand for crab and other types of seafood.
The U.S. has imported the majority of its seafood for more than 30 years, and more than 90 percent of the shrimp consumed in the U.S. is imported. While U.S. fishermen may not be able to meet total demand for shrimp, Mace’s legislation aims to steer buyers toward domestic seafood and protect the domestic industry. The bill has eight other cosponsors and bipartisan support.
“South Carolina’s fishing industry is the backbone of our coastal economy and our way of life,” Mace said in her press release on the bill. “For far too long, foreign actors have cheated the system with illegal fishing, forced labor, and this bill finally brings real accountability. It defends the livelihoods of hardworking American fishermen instead of leaving them to pay the price.”
The legislation expands the definition of a fishery disaster to include economic harm caused by foreign activity, such as market distortion by foreign producers, disruptions to sustainable harvests, and threats to the operational or economic viability of U.S. fisheries.
Mace's work is another element among growing efforts to protect the U.S. fishing industry.
