Two U.S. lawmakers have introduced a new bill intended to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) and U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) have partnered to sponsor the Protecting Global Fisheries Act, legislation they claim will expand the U.S. government’s authority and enable the federal government to better partner with foreign governments on maritime law enforcement.
“Illegal fishing practices abroad threaten Louisiana. Seafood production is a driver of our economy and way of life,” Cassidy said in a statement. “By cracking down on unfair competition from IUU fishing, we can preserve jobs, protect our local economies, strengthen national security, and safeguard marine habitats.”
In the statement, Cassidy and Kaine claim IUU fishing in the Western Hemisphere results in nearly USD 2.7 billion (EUR 2.6 billion) in annual lost revenue and makes up more than 20 percent of all catches in Latin America. The two lawmakers also highlight the “increasing presence of illegal Chinese fishing vessels.”
“IUU fishing has devastating consequences on global security, our economy – including Virginia’s seafood industry – and marine conservation efforts,” Kaine said. “The People’s Republic of China is a particularly egregious perpetrator of IUU fishing violations, and the PRC’s lawless behavior warrants a coordinated response from the U.S. government and our international partners. This bipartisan legislation takes important steps to deter IUU fishing by the PRC and other bad actors and hold those participating in IUU fishing accountable for their actions.”
According to the lawmakers, the Protecting Global Fisheries Act would require regular briefings from the State Department and the Department of Defense on IUU fishing to Congress. It would also give the president the authority to impose sanctions on foreign persons or vessels found to be complicit in IUU fishing or the sale, supply, purchase, or transfer of endangered species.
Kaine and Cassidy’s legislation isn’t the first congressional effort to bolster U.S. action on IUU fishing. In response to reporting from the Outlaw Ocean Project, multiple lawmakers and NGOs called on the Biden administration to take further action on IUU fishing. A bipartisan group of lawmakers also sent U.S. President Joe Biden a joint letter seeking more action on IUU fishing. U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) also introduced the Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvest (FISH) Act, which would create a blacklist of vessels with a history of conducting IUU fishing activities.
NGOs have also criticized the U.S. government for not doing more to prevent IUU-derived products from entering U.S. markets.
Recent IUU enforcement actions from the U.S. government include the U.S. Coast Guard and NOAA participating in the Canada-led Operation North Pacific Guard – which discovered illegal shark fin harvesting and vessels operating with their legally required monitoring systems turned off – and the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioning five Mexican individuals allegedly associated with the Gulf Cartel for enabling IUU fishing.
In September, the U.S. announced it would deny port privileges to foreign vessels from 17 nations accused of IUU fishing. Earlier this year, the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) launched a USD 1 million (EUR 918,000) competition to find effective strategies for forecasting global maritime vessel traffic involved in IUU fishing.
