U.S. senators voted to attach legislation designed to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing to the Senate’s annual military spending legislation just before it passed.
If passed, the Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvest (FISH) Act would require the U.S. government to establish a blacklist of vessels involved in IUU activities. Vessels on the list would be banned from U.S. waters. The legislation would also require the U.S. Coast Guard to increase at-sea inspections to combat IUU fishing. The bill also requires reports to be submitted on how new technologies can help combat IUU fishing and on how Russian and Chinese fishing affects the U.S. market.
U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) first introduced a version of the legislation in 2022, and it was reintroduced in 2023. Progress on the legislation has been slow, leading Sullivan to attempt to attach the FISH Act to the 2025 funding bill for the U.S. Department of Defense. Though that effort was not successful, Sullivan and Whitehouse reintroduced their bill earlier this year, and it was approved by a Senate committee in April.
“Globally, IUU fishing makes up approximately 20 percent of global seafood harvested. Catches result in economic losses estimated between [USD] 10 billion to USD 23 billion [EUR 9 billion to EUR 20 billion] to fisheries that fish legally each year,” Sullivan told the committee at the time. “For Alaska, IUU fishing is a growing threat. It certainly is a major factor on our very low commercial salmon harvests that we’ve had in the last few years. There are many reasons for a smaller salmon catch in Alaska, but one of them, clearly ... is IUU fishing in the North Pacific and parts outside of Alaska’s waters.”
Read the full article on Seafood Source. This article is republished with permission.
National Fisherman published an update on the FISH Act back in June:
To combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and protect U.S. coastal economies, Representatives Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Seth Magaziner (D-RI), and Nick Begich (R-AK) have introduced the bipartisan FISH Act.
“Illegal fishing by foreign vessels isn’t just a commercial issue, it’s a national security threat that undermines American businesses and harms our coastal communities,” said Rep. Crenshaw. “The bipartisan FISH Act is a strong step forward in confronting illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing by holding offenders accountable, enhancing our Coast Guard’s capabilities, and protecting American fisheries.”
The legislation directs NOAA to establish a blacklist of foreign vessels known to engage in IUU fishing, mandates more Coast Guard inspections at sea, imposes sanctions on vessel owners involved in illegal harvesting, and pushes for stronger international agreements. It builds upon the Maritime SAFE Act to reinforce U.S. leadership in global fisheries management.
