The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee advanced the ‘FISH’ Act to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing—a top concern of American Samoa’s fishing fleet. KHJ News Washington DC correspondent Matt Kaye reports…
The “Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvests Act” moved to the full Senate following an overwhelming bipartisan vote in committee.
Alaska GOP Senator and sponsor of S.688 Dan Sullivan…
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(Transc.) Sullivan: “It puts IUU fishing vessels on a blacklist, raises costs for IUU vessel owners, again, mostly Chinese—and importers…and supports increased Coast Guard enforcement on the high seas.”
This has been a key argument by Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata and others in support for basing a cutter in Pago Pago Harbor…as well as for President Trump’s recent move to reopen fishing in the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.
Sullivan’s bill also encourages international cooperation to combat IUU fishing—another area where the Coast Guard can help…
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(Transc.) Sullivan: “…to work with our partners and help some countries who are being ravaged by these IUU grey fleet—Chinese fleets—that by the way, are some of the most ruinous operations for sustainable fisheries around the world.”
And Sullivan didn’t stop there…
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(Transc.) Sullivan: “They are literally a cancer on global fishing. And this bill goes after Russian, and in particular, Chinese fishing fleets—which oh, by the way, use slave labor.”
Sullivan’s bill, co-sponsored by Rhode Island Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse, aims to help ensure that seafood supplied through legal channels is not harvested using forced labor.
Companies listed in a summary of the bill as potentially impacted due to their role in the seafood supply chain include Tyson Foods and ConAgra Brands.
