July 23, 2026 — The U.S. House has passed the Destruction of Hazardous Imports Act (H.R. 2715), kicking it up to the Senate.
The bill was advanced out of a subcommittee in May, passing with a 43-0 vote in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. On 20 July, the bill passed quickly in the U.S. House of Representatives after roughly 40 minutes of debate.
July 20, 2026 — The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources advanced legislation providing additional funding for restoring salmon in the San Joaquin River, clearing the bill for a vote from the full Senate.
If passed into law, the bill would triple the cap on funding available under the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Act from USD 250 million (EUR 219 million) to USD 750 million (EUR 656 million). The original legislation was passed in 2009 as part of a settlement ending an 18-year-long lawsuit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council, which blamed government policy and dam operators for causing local extinction of spring-run Chinook salmon in the San Joaquin River.
July 17, 2026 — U.S. representatives on the House Committee on Natural Resources voted to advance a bill reauthorizing NOAA’s Chesapeake Bay Office on 15 July.
“The House just took a key step toward investment in the science, restoration, and education that’s essential to the Chesapeake Bay’s recovery,” Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) Senior Policy Director Keisha Sedlacek said in a statement. “We’re grateful to House leaders for advancing the WATERS Act and look forward to action in the Senate on the companion bill.”
July 16, 2026 — Members of Congress routinely post news releases on legislation they introduce and cosponsor, including for Alaska’s delegation, a plethora of seafood legislation impacting the seafood industry.
Once in a while, one of these bills becomes law. The odds are 1-3 percent.
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and former Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, who are both running for his current Senate seat, have issued news releases stating their priorities for federal regulations related to the nation’s federal fisheries. Many of their campaigns are focused on convincing Alaskans engaged in the fisheries industry that they can do the most to protect and improve benefits for Alaskans working in that industry.
Purchases of Russian seafood were blocked from federal school lunch programs by an amendment introduced by Sullivan, which passed the Senate in November 2023. That amendment closed a loophole that had allowed Russian seafood processed in China to bypass the National School Lunch Program “Buy American” requirements.
In 2022, the Alaska Salmon Task Force Act, sponsored by Sullivan, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, and Rep. Don Young, Alaska’s all Republican delegation, was established as a federal task force. On July 12, 2024, the task force submitted its final science report on the complex biological, environmental and socioeconomic factors impacting Alaska salmon to the Secretary of Commerce, the Alaska Legislature and relevant congressional committees.
On June 25, Sullivan introduced the Bycatch Reduction Act, an updated version of bycatch legislation introduced by the Alaska congressional delegation in January of 2026, which remains in the introduced stage in the Senate and the House.
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.
March 25, 2026 — Legislation to keep illegal foreign seafood from entering U.S. ports and waters has passed the U.S. Senate, and now awaits similar action on a companion bill before the U.S. House.
The Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvest (FISH) Act takes a strong stand against foreign illegal unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing by blacklisting offending vessels, bolstering the U.S. Coast guard’s enforcement capabilities and partnerships and advancing international and bilateral negotiations to achieve enforceable agreements and treaties.
January 16, 2026 — The U.S. Senate has approved legislation funding NOAA Fisheries, as well as several major federal departments, through the remainder of fiscal year 2026 in an overwhelming 82-15 vote.
The legislation next goes to U.S. President Donald Trump to be signed into law.
December 23, 2025 — The U.S. Senate has confirmed a new leader to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries division, the agency responsible for managing the nation’s marine fisheries and conserving protected ocean species.
The Senate approved Timothy Petty as the new Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, the top position overseeing NOAA Fisheries, on Dec. 19, 2025. The confirmation follows Petty’s nomination by the White House and a Senate hearing in October where lawmakers questioned him on fisheries management issues, including stock assessments and disaster relief funding.
December 19, 2025 — The U.S. Senate has confirmed Timothy Petty as the new assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere at NOAA, the top position overseeing NOAA Fisheries.
Petty previously served as a senior staffer for lawmakers on the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Water and Environment.
December 10, 2025 — The U.S. Senate has passed legislation reauthorizing marine debris cleanup programs originally passed in the 2020 Save Our Seas 2.0 Act for another five years.
“Alaska has more coastline than the Lower 48 states combined, which means our state feels a disproportionate impact of the global marine debris crisis,” U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan said in a release. “These programs, last authorized by our Save Our Seas 2.0 Act, have helped our coastal communities clean up the debris that washes up onto our vast shoreline, provided access to clean drinking water, and supported the health and livelihoods of Alaskans, including our fishermen.