Saving Seafood

WTO hands out first tranche of grants to help developing countries meet terms of fishing subsidy deal

February 5, 2026 — A fund set up by the World Trade Organization (WTO) to help developing countries adapt to an agreement on curbing harmful fishing subsidies has handed out nearly USD 3 million (EUR 2.54 million) in its first tranche of grants.

The grants aim to help nations meet the stipulations of a deal originally signed by WTO members in 2022 to prohibit global subsidies that support vessels engaging in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities, fishing overfished stocks, and operating on the unregulated high seas.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US Senate committee advances Protecting Global Fisheries Act

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.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US Congressional committee accuses China’s distant-water fishing fleet of intimidation, ecological destruction

January 20, 2026 — The U.S. House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party has released an investigation accusing China of being “the world’s largest perpetrator of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.”

The committee made several strong claims about China’s distant-water fishing fleet, accusing the Chinese government of using the fleet of roughly 16,000 vessels for intimidation and control.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US Coast Guard debriefs Congress on efforts to stop IUU fishing

January 15, 2026 — U.S. government officials told Congressional lawmakers the Coast Guard needs more vessels, personnel, and tools to prevent illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU) in U.S. and distant waters.

“IUU is a threat to both the global economy and the U.S. economy. The illegal catch that is brought into the United States … impacts the USD 150 billion [EUR 129 billion] that our fishermen bring to the global domestic product,” Rear Admiral David Barata, the Coast Guard’s deputy commandant for operations policy, testified to lawmakers during a 13 January House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee hearing.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US bill would authorize disaster funding for commercial fishers hurt by foreign subsidies

December 8, 2025 — U.S. lawmakers have reintroduced legislation that would allow fishery disaster funding to be awarded to commercial fisheries hurt by foreign subsidies, predatory pricing, and illegal, unreported, or unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s fishery resource disasters assistance program provides financial assistance to commercial fishers and related businesses that experience sudden, unexpected losses. NOAA Fisheries has awarded fishery disaster determinations for hurricanes, harmful algal blooms, oil spills, and other man-made or natural events that cause harm to commercial fisheries.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US House committee approves Stop Illegal Fishing Act

December 5, 2025 — The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee has approved the Stop Illegal Fishing Act, legislation that authorizes U.S. President Donald Trump to impose sanctions on foreign individuals and vessels that engage in illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU) fishing.

The authors of the bill say the measure is necessary to crack down on large foreign fishing fleets that have dodgy records on the environment and human rights – particularly China’s distant-water fleet.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

EU IUU Coalition warns bloc is leaving its borders wide open to illegal seafood imports

November 24, 2025 — The European Union is failing to keep illicit seafood products from entering its borders, despite having some of the strongest illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing restrictions on paper, according to the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF).

The NGO – along with Oceana, The Pew Charitable Trusts, The Nature Conservancy, and WWF EU, all of which comprise the E.U.’s IUU Fishing Coalition – has warned in a new report – “Beyond CATCH: Why E.U. import controls still fail to keep illegal seafood out of the market” – that this flow of IUU products into the bloc is creating “dangerous loopholes” that threaten consumer trust, fair competition, and global efforts to combat fisheries crime.

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

US senators demand ban on Chinese seafood over IUU fishing, forced labor

August 27, 2025 — A pair of senators from the United States have sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, demanding the federal government issue “the toughest possible sanctions on seafood from China” over human rights violations in its commercial fishing industry.

In the 21 August letter, U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Alabama) and U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-Florida) claimed illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in China’s seafood industry was harmful to U.S. workers and a threat to national security.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource