New legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate would identify and sanction nations accountable for weak supervision of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fisheries crimes at sea.
The "Protecting U.S. Fishers from Illegal Foreign Flags Act of 2026" was introduced in the Senate on June 4, a day ahead of International Day for the Fight against IUU Fishing, by Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, and Roger Wicker, R-Miss.
The United States has for over a decade been the world's leading importer of seafood by value, importing $25 billion in seafood in 2024 alone, according to an evaluation of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program by Simeone Consulting, LLC, in northern Wisconsin. In fact over 94 percent of seafood consumed in the U.S. annually is imported, with up to 32 percent of those imports of wild-caught seafood imports being products of IUU fishing.
The bill would expand the NOAA's authority to identify and sanction nations that act as flags of convenience, enabling IUU companies to evade oversight. The bill would amend the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act, which gives NOAA the ability to take action against countries who fail to address IUU fishing at its source, including through seafood import restrictions and denial of port privileges.
By compelling flag states to be accountable for flagged ships, this legislation strengthens the fight against IUU fishing, said spokespersons for the environmental entity Oceana.
“If we want to promote sustainable fisheries, protect habitat and wildlife, and keep illegally caught seafood out of the U.S. market, we need to hold flag states accountable and this bill would do just that," said Maisie Pigeon, senior director of global transparency for Oceana. "Congress should pass this commonsense bill to hold foreign countries accountable for actions at sea and help level the playing field for U.S. fishers and seafood producers that follow the rules,” Pigeon said.
The senators noted that some companies register their vessels in such countries to save money, dodge domestic regulations, and access cheap foreign labor. These flags of convenience are strongly correlated with IUU fishing activity and labor abuses at sea, they said.
The bill would also require NOAA to adopt a more expansive definition of IUU fishing that aligns with definitions used in other U.S. laws, including the Maritime SAFE Act. This more comprehensive definition would improve enforcement and coordination among key federal agencies, including NOAA, the U.S. Coast Guard, the State Department and Customs, the senators said.
