A former NOAA deputy administrator in the Trump administration has come out in support of a ban on Russian seafood imports in wake of the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Retired Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet, who is currently the CEO of Ocean STL Consulting, wrote an op-ed piece for The Hill published on Sunday, 27 February, saying the actions set forth by Russian President Vladimir Putin require “a comprehensive counterpunch” from the U.S. and its allies in response. Gallaudet said previous sanctions levied against Russia need to be expanded, and called on the U.S. Congress to pass the U.S.-Russian Federation Seafood Reciprocity Act, filed 9 February by U.S. Sens. Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski, both Republicans representing Alaska. U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, filed a similar bill in the House on 23 February.
Not only would banning the seafood products hurt the Russian economy, but it would also boost the American seafood industry, according to Gallaudet. As the former assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere, Gallaudet was a chief spokesperson for the Trump administration’s “blue economy” initiative, which sought to bolster seafood production in domestic waters.
Gallaudet, a former Navy oceanographer, noted the United States imported nearly USD 700 million (EUR 623.6 million) in Russian seafood products in 2019, a nearly 20 percent jump from the previous year. If the Biden administration could get other allies to also place an embargo on Russian seafood products, it could serve as a crippling blow to the country’s economy and potentially turn up the internal pressure on Putin to end the campaign against its neighbor, Gallaudet wrote.
“Because offensive military options are complicated by the potential for nuclear escalation, we must look broadly at all possible means of influence,” Gallaudet said. “In the same way that American sea power helped to take down Soviet Russia in the Cold War, let’s follow through on promoting American seafood competitiveness to help turn the course of modern Russia in the unfolding disaster with Ukraine.”
The call to ban Russian imports has met with some opposition. Some industry officials have noted that Russian crab imports could not be easily replaced either by domestic or other sources, and the abrupt loss of access would devastate those businesses.
Sullivan’s attempt to get the bill passed with unanimous consent earlier this month was stopped by an objection from U.S. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts), who noted that processors in his state handle Russian pollock imports. A ban would lead to significant job losses, he said, although he did pledge to work with Sullivan on finding a solution.
After Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on 22 February, Markey issued a three-paragraph statement saying that more sanctions should be levied if Russia failed to pull out. However, Markey did not discuss seafood imports in that release, and instead focused on other Russian imports.
“This is yet another example of the importance of eliminating U.S. and European reliance on Russian dirty energy as quickly as possible – Putin and his cronies continue to fill their pockets with dirty oil and gas money at the expense of Ukraine and European energy independence,” Markey said. “Our global fossil fuel addiction is a catalyst for conflict, but a clean energy Green New Deal would be a pathway for peace.”
A message left by SeafoodSource Monday, 28 February, asking Markey’s office for an update on his position on the Russian seafood ban was not immediately returned.
Photo courtesy of WikiMedia Commons
