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?
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.