United States senators have introduced legislation that would task the federal government with developing a new methodology for identifying where tuna and red snapper sold in the U.S. originated from.
If passed, the Illegal Red Snapper and Tuna Enforcement Act would direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and NOAA with creating a field test kit that uses a chemical agent to determine whether red snapper or certain species of tuna originated in foreign waters.
The lawmakers behind the bill – Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Sen. Katie Britt (R-Alabama), and Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) – claim the legislation is necessary to crack down on illegal fish harvesting.
“Cartels and other criminal entities are illegally catching, importing, and selling red snapper and tuna to unwitting consumers and then using such profits to fund other illicit activities like drug smuggling and human trafficking,” Cruz said in a statement. “I am glad to join my colleagues in introducing this common-sense, bipartisan legislation to support U.S. fishermen, and I am hopeful Congress will act quickly to stop these dangerous criminal gangs.”
U.S. red snapper fishers have been frustrated by illegal red snapper fishing conducted on small Mexican vessels called “lanchas,” a cartel-supported activity.
“Alabama lands 34 percent of all recreationally caught red snapper in the Gulf [of Mexico],” Tuberville said. “Unfortunately, our domestic red snapper industry is being undermined by Mexican fishermen who are illegally catching American snapper in the Gulf, smuggling them into Mexico, and then reselling the same fish back to American consumers. In addition to taking business away from Alabama’s fishermen, many of the profits from these illegal fishing operations are funding the cartels.”
In 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned five Mexican individuals, allegedly associated with the Gulf Cartel, for supporting illegal red snapper fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.
Hawaiian fishers, on the other hand, have had to contend with competition from illegally harvested tuna.
“Seafood that’s caught illegally or intentionally mislabeled rips off consumers and makes it harder for law-abiding U.S. fishermen to compete,” Schatz said. “Our bill will help fight against pirate fishermen who try to pass off cheap foreign tuna for high-quality ahi from local Hawai‘i fishermen.”
A previous version of the bill was introduced and 2024 and was approved by the Senate Commerce Committee; however, the legislation was not voted on by the Senate before the end of the 118th Congress in January.
