{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.sullivan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senate-passes-sullivan-whitehouse-fish-act-to-combat-illegal-foreign-seafood-harvest", "Senate Passes Sullivan-Whitehouse FISH Act to Combat Illegal Foreign Seafood Harvest", "2025-10-28", "2025", "2025-10", "Republican", "Senate", "AK", "Dan Sullivan", "S001198", "www.sullivan.senate.gov", "sullivan", "https://www.sullivan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases?PageNum_rs=3", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2014U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) celebrated the Senate recently passing their Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvest (FISH) Act as part of the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The FISH Act would combat foreign illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing by blacklisting offending vessels from U.S. ports and waters, bolstering the U.S. Coast Guard\u2019s enforcement capabilities and partnerships, and advancing international and bilateral negotiations to achieve enforceable agreements and treaties. The legislation is cosponsored by Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), and John Kennedy (R-La.). House companion legislation has been introduced by Representatives Nick Begich (R-Alaska), Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), and Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas).\n\n\u201cThe geopolitics of the North Pacific and the Arctic are changing dramatically, with Russia and China increasing their aggression and ruinous activities near Alaska\u2019s waters,\u201d said Sen. Sullivan. \u201cOne 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. These gray fleets, which literally utilize slave labor in many cases, are a cancer on fisheries throughout the world and undercut our fishermen, who fish sustainably. I want to thank my Senate colleagues for advancing our FISH Act in the FY 2026 NDAA and helping us fight back against IUU fishing on behalf of our fishermen and coastal communities.\u201d\n\n\u201cI was glad to work with Senator Sullivan, my longtime partner on oceans issues, to secure the inclusion of our bipartisan FISH Act in this year\u2019s Senate-passed NDAA. 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,\u201d said Sen. Whitehouse, co-founder of the Senate Oceans Caucus.\n\n\u201cAlaska seafood is sold in over 100 countries. Therefore, our fishermen and seafood processors must compete in the challenging global market,\u201d said Jeremy Woodrow, executive director of Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. \u201cU.S. and Alaska seafood is regulated, harvested, and processed under the highest standards. In fact, in many cases, the U.S. sets the global standard. Unfortunately, numerous fisheries across the globe continue to operate illegally and unregulated. When these unchecked seafood products enter the global marketplace, they undercut the value of responsibly produced seafood. This impacts not only the marketplace but drives down the economic returns to Alaska\u2019s fishing communities. Thank you, Senator Sullivan, for addressing this inequity and fighting for fairness on behalf of Alaska\u2019s seafood industry.\u201d\n\n\u201cThank you, Senator Sullivan, for working to level the playing field for U.S. fishermen,\u201d said Gabriel Prout, 3rd generation commercial fisherman, FV Silver Spray, and president of Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers. \u201cWhile my family and I are out fishing Alaska crab, we can rest assured that you are working hard to address this problem that has cost Alaska fishermen over a billion dollars over the years.\u201d\n\n\u201cI want to thank Senator Sullivan and Senator Whitehouse for working together to protect Alaska fishermen,\u201d said Matt Alward, president of United Fishermen of Alaska. \u201cAlaska\u2019s seafood sector is facing very serious challenges. Illegal, unreported and unregulated foreign fishing exacerbates these challenges by undercutting lawful and sustainably caught American seafood. I\u2019m grateful that Senator Sullivan is taking the issue seriously and working to crack down on IUU fishing through the FISH Act.\u201d\n\n\u201cSilver Bay Seafoods commends Senator Dan Sullivan for his strong support for Alaska\u2019s fishing industry. Alaska fisheries are highly regulated and sustainably managed,\u201d said Cora Campbell, president and CEO of Silver Bay Seafoods. \u201cThis bill increases accountability for countries that do not have the same standards, which will help level the playing field and improve competitiveness of American sourced seafood.\u201d\n\n\u201cIllegal fishing, and the human rights abuses associated with it, puts our oceans and fishers at risk. The United States must be a leader in holding bad actors accountable and leveling the playing field for U.S. fishers,\u201d said Oceana Illegal Fishing & Transparency Campaign Director Dr. Max Valentine. \u201cThe FISH Act would help lift the veil on the identities of those involved in these illicit activities. Oceana thanks Sen. Sullivan and Sen. Whitehouse for their dedicated work to fight illegal fishing and protect American fishers and consumers.\u201d\n\n\u201cNFI believes strongly in supporting concrete solutions to stopping and combatting Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing,\u201d said Lisa Wallenda Picard, president & CEO of National Fisheries Institute (NFI). \u201cWhere it occurs, IUU fishing harms effective fishery management measures and undercuts harvesters that fish legally and responsibly. NFI applauds Senators Sullivan and Whitehouse for the FISH Act and for understanding that there needs to be a process that targets bad actors where they are, instead of imposing regulatory burdens and costs on American seafood companies. We view the FISH Act as the definitive statute on IUU and look forward to its enactment as part of the NDAA.\u201d\n\n\u201cIllegal fishing practices are uniquely destructive to global fisheries and the billions of people that depend on them,\u201dsaid Molly Masterton, senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). \u201cBy 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.\u201d\n\nThe FISH Act builds on prior landmark legislation against IUU fishing, including the Maritime SAFE Act, authored by Senators Wicker and Chris Coons (D-Del.) and signed into law in December 2019 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.\n\nKey provisions of the FISH Act:\n\nDirect the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to establish a blacklist of foreign vessels and owners that have engaged in IUU fishing.\n\nDirect the administration to address IUU fishing in any relevant international agreement.\n\nDirect the U.S. Coast Guard to increase its work with partner countries and increase at-sea inspection of foreign vessels suspected of IUU fishing.\n\nDirect the administration to report to Congress on how new technologies can aid in the fight against IUU fishing, the complexities of the seafood trade relationship between Russia and China, and the economic costs of IUU fishing to the U.S.\n\nOn April 17, President Trump signed an executive order, \u201cRestoring American Seafood Competitiveness,\u201d directing the Secretary of Commerce, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), and Interagency Seafood Trade Task Force to assess seafood competitiveness issues and collectively develop a comprehensive seafood trade strategy. Among these strategies, the USTR will examine the relevant trade practices of major seafood-producing nations, including IUU fishing and the use of forced labor in the seafood supply chain.\n\nOn April 30, the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee unanimously passed the FISH Act from committee. On June 12, Sen. Sullivan, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Coast Guard, Maritime, and Fisheries, chaired a hearing on the threat of foreign IUU fishing to America\u2019s and Alaska\u2019s fishermen and coastal communities.\n\nSenators Sullivan and Whitehouse have worked together extensively on ocean sustainability issues, most notably on the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act, the most comprehensive legislation ever to address the global marine debris crisis, which became law in 2020.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:32:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.sullivan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senate-passes-sullivan-whitehouse-fish-act-to-combat-illegal-foreign-seafood-harvest"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 3.499716054648161, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}