June 30, 2026 — U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) has introduced the Home Market Restoration Act of 2026, a bill designed to limit imports of crawfish, shrimp, and catfish by setting higher duty rates once designated quotas are reached.
“Louisiana producers can compete with anyone if trade is fair,” Cassidy said. “Whether it is crawfish, shrimp, rice, or catfish, America cannot let foreign competitors flood our markets and push our producers out of business.”
June 1, 2026 — U.S. senators have expanded their inquiry into imported shrimp, which they claim “poses serious risks to families’ health,” sending questions to three of the largest seafood certification bodies.
Together, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) and U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) have sent a list of questions to the Global Seafood Alliance, the Marine Stewardship Council, and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council.
February 2, 2026 — The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has advanced the Protecting Global Fisheries Act, legislation introduced last year to crack down on foreign illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Introduced by U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) and U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), the legislation would give the president the authority to impose sanctions on foreign persons or vessels that participate or enable IUU fishing.
January 26, 2026 — Alabama Senators Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt joined a group of Gulf Coast lawmakers in urging federal regulators to crack down on illegal fishing by Mexican vessels in U.S. waters, warning the practice undercuts American fishermen, threatens fish stocks and fuels cartel activity.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-LA, led a Jan. 14 letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration calling on the agency to use its import restriction authority and other enforcement tools to stop illegally harvested red snapper from entering U.S. markets according to a news release. Cassidy and other Gulf lawmakers said enforcement at sea alone has not been enough to deter the activity.
“We write to express concern regarding the continued illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing for red snapper by Mexican vessels operating in U.S. waters in the Gulf of America. The Coast Guard has demonstrated sustained and effective operational enforcement through repeated interdictions and seizures; however, the continued presence of Mexican lanchas in U.S. waters suggests that enforcement at sea, by itself, is insufficient to eliminate the incentive to fish illegally. We urge the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to use its import-restriction authorities, and other applicable authorities, to address this problem in a targeted and proportionate manner that supports law-abiding U.S. fisheries,” the senators wrote.
November 10, 2025 — Louisiana Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and John Kennedy (R-La.) are worried about the safety of imported shrimp sold in major grocery stores nationwide.
The senators sent letters this week to the CEOs of Walmart, Kroger, and Albertsons, saying the stores continue to sell imported shrimp that could contain Cesium-137, a radioactive substance linked to cancer and other health problems
“Ensuring that American families have access to safe, quality food is essential for us to advance President Trump’s agenda to Make America Healthy Again,” the senators wrote.
Read the full article at Yahoo! News
August 4, 2025 — U.S. legislators want to create a new tax credit to incentivize investments that minimize the impact of natural disasters on working waterfronts.
“Let’s empower coastal businesses to invest in flood and disaster prevention before a storm hits,” U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) said in a statement. “Doing so protects our way of life, fishing and coastal industries, and the livelihoods of Louisiana families.”
April 9, 2025 — The following was released by Bill Cassidy:
U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), John Curtis (R-UT), and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) introduced the Protecting Global Fisheries Actto combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Predatory IUU fishing, particularly by China, disrupts international trade and undermines maritime security, marine ecosystems, and food and economic security. It often involves forced labor, human trafficking, unsafe working conditions, and other human rights abuses. IUU fishing directly harms the United States—a major harvester, importer, and consumer of seafood—by creating unfair competition for fishermen who abide by international fishing laws.
“Louisiana produces the best seafood in the world. Competitors abroad outprice us with illegal practices. It hurts our jobs, economy, and national security. Let’s protect our way of life,” said Dr. Cassidy.
The Protecting Global Fisheries Act would:
Background
IUU fishing violates national and international fishing laws, including fishing without a license for certain species, failing to report catches or making false reports, using prohibited fishing gear, or conducting unauthorized transfers of fish to cargo vessels. It has become a particular challenge in the Western Hemisphere, costing nearly $2.7 billion in lost revenue annually and making up more than 20 percent of all catches in Latin America. The increasing presence of illegal Chinese fishing vessels has significantly contributed to the rise in IUU fishing in the hemisphere and around the world.
January 7, 2024 — Several U.S. senators want to be able to track fishery disaster determinations the same way consumers track packages throughout their shipping process.
The Republican lawmakers are demanding more transparency from NOAA Fisheries on how the agency makes determinations of fishery disasters – a designation that makes communities and industries eligible for federal financial relief.
March 24, 2022 — Four hurricanes and two tropical storms later, hard hit areas of Louisiana will be the recipient of an unexpected $1.7 billion in federal hurricane relief dollars. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Gov. John Bel Edwards, U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy and Rep. Garret Graves announced the new funding that provided a major infusion to the $600 million previously approved, raising to more than $1 billion the total amount of Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery money available for recovery from these storms.
“I’m grateful to the Biden-Harris administration for their commitment to helping our communities and those around the nation recover from the impacts of these devastating storms,” said Gov. Edwards in a press release. “I contacted Sec. Fudge to personally thank her for this significant allocation that should provide Louisiana with an opportunity to implement a more effective, albeit late, recovery from Hurricanes Laura and Delta. In addition, Louisiana will receive $1.27 billion for recovery from Hurricane Ida and other 2021 disasters. However, the need is much greater, which everyone we have spoken with in Washington acknowledges. We will continue working to secure that additional funding.”
The funds are part of a $5 billion supplemental disaster appropriation Congress enacted in September of last year for all disasters countrywide in 2020-21. Approximately $450 million will go to Louisiana’s southwest region to cover unmet needs stemming from Hurricanes Laura and Delta, which struck in 2020. The remaining allocated for communities hit by Hurricane Ida last year. Additionally Baton Rouge would receive $4.6 million and $10.8 million to Lake Charles.
Read the full story at Gulf Seafood News
May 26, 2021 — Last week, U.S. Rep. Dan Webster, R-Fla., introduced a bill for the U.S. Commerce Department to increase regulation on the international shark trade.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduced the bill in the U.S. Senate at the end of last month.
Rubio has been pushing the “Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act” since 2018 and he reintroduced it this week.
The bill “would require any country that seeks to export shark, ray, and skate to the US to first demonstrate it has a system of science-based management to prevent overfishing and a prohibition on the practice of shark finning” and ensure other nations “must also receive certification from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that its fisheries management policies are on par with US practices” and modifies the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act.
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., is co-sponsoring the bill. So are U.S. Sens. Mike Braun, R-Ind., and Bill Cassidy, R-La.