The U.S. government bears a responsibility to secure our nation’s resources from foreign pilfering. On October 21, the Senate passed the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes Senators Dan Sullivan and Sheldon Whitehouse’s FISH Act. The Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvest (FISH) Act will allow the U.S. to more effectively protect its waters from foreign illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
According to Sen. Sullivan, IUU fishing poses substantial risk to American, specifically Alaskan seafood commerce and fishery sustainability. “One particularly insidious threat is Chinese and Russian fishing fleets that ignore basic seafood harvest rules and best practices, and ravage fish stocks without regard for any other users or future generations,” stated Sullivan.
This critical bill generated support from both Republicans and Democrats. Democrat Sen. Whitehouse, the co-founder of the Senate Oceans Caucus, expresses his view: “Our bill cracks down on illegal pirate fishing operations to level the playing field for Rhode Island fishermen and processors who play by the rules, and it will help nurture the fisheries that keep our oceans and coastal communities so healthy and vibrant.”
The FISH Act directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to establish a blacklist of foreign vessels and owners suspected of engaging in IUU fishing. It also enables the NOAA to address IUU fishing in relevant international agreements. Additionally, the act enhances partnership between the U.S. Coast Guard and partner countries to increase at-sea inspections and enforcement of fishing regulations. Lastly, the bill requires the NOAA to seek out new technologies to combat IUU fishing, especially Russian and Chinese IUU fishing, and report their solutions to Congress.
Molly Masterton, senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) highlights why the U.S. needs Senators Sullivan and Whitehouse’s bill: “Illegal fishing practices are uniquely destructive to global fisheries and the billions of people that depend on them. By shedding a light on bad actors who benefit from skirting the law, the FISH Act takes important steps to better enforce against global illegal fishing and associated labor abuses in the seafood sector. Paired with tools to root out illegally harvested seafood from the U.S. market, it will also help level the playing field for U.S. fishing communities who play by the rules.”
The act helps protect one of Alaska’s most vital commercial activities. Over 100 countries purchase Alaska seafood. Russia and China must keep their hands off Alaskan resources!
Dream On to the Alaskans and shame on Sen, Sullivan for his cooperation in such a middle of the road approach to saving our fishing industry. The 200 mile limit doesn’t stop the thieves, why would this? Shame on Senator Sullivan and poor representation of protecting our fishing industry. What really is Sen. Sullivan trying to give away to the Democrats in the Senate?
The other serious problem with this attached issue to the Dept of War and Defense is that the Federal government and the State of Alaska took away the enforcement powers of NOAA in the early 2000’s administration of Frank Murkowski and President Bush along the whole coastal areas of Alaska. There is a disconnect in creating this to link the blacklist in maritime law for the purpose of law enforcement. The only use any enforcement would show for defense is the 200 mile limit, Knowing that, leaves a gap that puts burden on an agency removed from that extra legal power and turns it completely to Defense in Dept of War and not Homeland Security. Sullivan should address this or throw this out of the Defense Bill. This Fish Act , in maritime law, could be just a shell game for the public in a distressful Senate political brawl between Republicans and Democrats.
Russia has a long history of ruining natural resources every where they go, to say nothing of their imposition of slavery on every people they encounter.
Actullay, much of what i have read suggests that Alaska Was sort of an anomaly in how they traeted the indigenous people thye interacted with. At least in the last century or so. Can you point me to any reading that shows otherwise? always ready to gain new insights.
Alaska, an anomaly? Don’t make me laugh.
Seize the vessels, apprehend the poachers, sink the boats, then deport poachers to they’er home country’s and tag that country by implementing an extra fee on tariffs for violating 200 mile limit, simple as that.
Um, duh. We’ve been pointing this out for at least ten years. There are no more salmon in the Koyukuk and few in the Yukon because of foreign overfishing – even in U.S. territorial waters. The Norks are involved in this also. Solution? Torpedoes.
Illegal fishing and violation of our economic exclusion zone, which is supposedly 200 miles, has gone on for some time. We all know there is overfishing in these areas by the Russians and Chinese. It seems to be ignored and rarely discussed while low fish stocks are blamed on us and climate change.
There aren’t any Chinese or Russian fishing vessels operating in Alaska’s EEZ and our Congressional delegation damn well knows this! Senator Sullivan would much better serve Alaska’s interests if he directed his efforts towards the Seattle based, corporate factory trawl fleet that routinely drags football field sized nets through the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea resulting in horrendous bycatch of king salmon, halibut and crab that directly adversely affects Alaska’s commercial fishermen & subsistence users.
I am convinced that ALL the draggers are killing off the king salmon.
Yes yes yes
NO NO NO……
Smoke and mirors. Maybe they should try saving the resource by banning the draggers and bad practices by the homegrown fleet first, since it’s already illegal for foreign vessels to fish in the US 200mi limit.
I recommend, intercepting those fishing boats, offloading the people, catches, fuel, etc., then sinking the boat. Use them as artificial reefs. Don’t allow some middle-man to swoop in as a buyer when the ship is put on auction.
What a dumbbell idea!
Obviously, he was at the top of his class! Go easy on him, DK, it won’t be long before AI does all his thinking! He may be the last of his kind.