Saving Seafood

FISH Act moves closer to halting entry of illegal seafood harvests

April 23, 2026 — Commercial fisheries legislation targeting illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing harvests from entering U.S. markets is moving closer to being signed into law by President Trump.

The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday, April 21, passed the Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvest (FISH) Act out of committee. It next goes to the full House floor.

The Senate has already unanimously passed its version of the FISH Act, authored by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.

The legislation was introduced in the House by Reps. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, and Seth Magaziner, D-R.I.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

US House committee advances FISH Act

April 23, 2026 — The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee has approved the Fighting Illegal Seafood Harvests (FISH) Act, legislation intended to penalize foreign vessels and individuals who participate illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

“My bipartisan bill with Representative Dan Crenshaw [R-Texas] and Rep. Nick Begich [R-Alaska] to crack down on illegal international fishing that undercuts Rhode Island fishermen just passed the House Natural Resources Committee,” U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-Rhode Island) said in a social media post. “Let’s level the playing field and stand up for local fishermen.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

National Fisheries Institute Applauds House Natural Resources Committee Passage of the FISH Act

April 21, 2026 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute:

The House Natural Resources Committee’s passage of the Fighting Illegal Seafood Harvests (FISH) Act is an important step for a significant bill.

The FISH Act is the definitive statute designed to combat Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. It offers concrete solutions that target bad actors and avoids unnecessary regulatory burdens that cost American seafood companies. Targeting vessels and owners while building upon government-to-government relationships is a strategy that address the challenge at its core.

Thank you to the committee for its work and Representatives Crenshaw, Begich, and Magaziner for introducing the bill. We look forward to working with Congress to see the FISH Act become law.

 

FISH Act advances as Senate targets illegal foreign fishing fleets

April 1, 2026 — A federal effort to crack down on illegal fishing is moving forward again on Capitol Hill, with Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan’s, R-Alaska, Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvest (FISH) Act advancing out of the U.S. Senate.

According to reporting from KUCB, the Senate passed the bill on March 22, sending it to the U.S. House for consideration. The legislation targets vessels engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing by blocking them from accessing U.S. ports and waters.

Under the proposal, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would be responsible for creating a blacklist of offending vessels, with enforcement carried out by the U.S. Coast Guard, KUCB reported.

Sullivan pointed directly to foreign fleets as a growing concern for U.S. fishermen.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

US Senate passes FISH Act, again

March 23, 2026 — The U.S. Senate has once again voted to pass the Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvest (FISH) Act, legislation that would give the federal government more tools to crack down on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing conducted by foreign fleets.

The FISH Act directs the U.S. government to create a blacklist of vessels banned from U.S. waters due to their participating in IUU fishing. The bill also supports increased at-sea inspections by the U.S. Coast Guard and requires a report on what technologies can be used to better combat IUU fishing.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Senate pushes forward FISH Act to combat illegal global fishing

October 20, 2025 — U.S. senators voted to attach legislation designed to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing to the Senate’s annual military spending legislation just before it passed.

If passed, the Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvest (FISH) Act would require the U.S. government to establish a blacklist of vessels involved in IUU activities. Vessels on the list would be banned from U.S. waters. The legislation would also require the U.S. Coast Guard to increase at-sea inspections to combat IUU fishing. The bill also requires reports to be submitted on how new technologies can help combat IUU fishing and on how Russian and Chinese fishing affects the U.S. market.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

US Senate passes military funding bill with FISH Act attached

October 13, 2025 — U.S. senators voted to attach legislation designed to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing to the Senate’s annual military spending legislation just before it passed.

If passed, the Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvest (FISH) Act would require the U.S. government to establish a blacklist of vessels involved in IUU activities. Vessels on the list would be banned from U.S. waters. The legislation would also require the U.S. Coast Guard to increase at-sea inspections to combat IUU fishing. The bill also requires reports to be submitted on how new technologies can help combat IUU fishing and on how Russian and Chinese fishing affects the U.S. market.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

RHODE ISLAND: Federal officials look to stop illegal fishing fleets near RI coast

August 11, 2025 — In the weeks since the Senate Commerce Committee passed the bipartisan Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvest (FISH) Act in May, its momentum continues to build.

Spearheaded by U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), the bill is now primed for a full Senate vote, as lawmakers use summer hearing information to press their case against foreign fishing fleets that threaten American waters, jobs, and sustainability.

“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 will help nurture the fisheries that keep our oceans and coastal communities so healthy and vibrant,” Whitehouse said.

Read the full article at The Independent

Alaska Sen. Sullivan pushes U.S. government to complete key stock surveys, fight illegal fishing amid possible NOAA funding cuts

May 9, 2025 — The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation unanimously passed a seafood bill on April 30 to fight illegal fishing. The legislation would rely on efforts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which Sen. Dan Sullivan said is already struggling to complete key fisheries surveys.

Sullivan co-sponsored the Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvest, or FISH, Act with seven other senators, including Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Sullivan said he hopes it will help fight unfair trade practices and give a boost to Alaska’s fishing industry.

Sullivan said the act takes aim at foreign illegal, unreported and unregulated, or IUU, fishing.

“It would blacklist foreign vessels and owners that have engaged in IUU fishing — it’s mostly Chinese,” Sullivan said. “And it would provide much more enforcement with regard to our Coast Guard’s ability to increase at-sea inspections.”

Any blacklisted vessels would be prohibited from accessing U.S. ports, traveling through U.S. territorial seas, except in accordance with customary international law, making deliveries in U.S. waters, or receiving services from American vessels.

Read the full story at KYUK

US Senate committee recommends passage of IUU fishing bill

May 1, 2025 — U.S. Senate committee has approved legislation that would increase restrictions on vessels engaged in harmful fishing practices, recommending that the full Senate pass the bill.

“This is another measure in a long line of bipartisan comprehensive bills that [U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island)] and I have been introducing and passing over the last several years,” U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said after the committee voted in favor of his bill, pointing to the 2020 Save Our Seas Act. “President Trump has been a big supporter of these clean ocean legislation initiatives, and now we have the FISH Act, which is focused on illegal, unreported, and unregulated [IUU] fishing, which is both a challenge globally, it’s a challenge for our country, and it’s certainly a challenge in Alaska.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source