Senate subcommittee hears bipartisan push to curb illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; Fish Act touted as key tool

Chairman Dan Sullivan convened the inaugural hearing of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Coast Guard, Maritime, and Fisheries to focus on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, its links to transnational crime and forced labor, and possible U.S. responses, including pending legislation known as the Fish Act. "Today's hearing will focus on international conflict, criminal activity, and, yes, even slave labor, associated with the ocean," Sullivan said, adding that the committee recently passed the Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvest (Fish Act) unanimously in committee.

Why it matters: Witnesses and senators described IUU fishing as a cross-cutting threat — harming U.S. fishermen and coastal economies, degrading fish stocks and marine ecosystems, enabling human trafficking and forced labor, and posing national-security risks when foreign vessels operate near U.S. waters or allied infrastructure.

The hearing opened with senators from multiple coastal states describing local effects. Ranking Member Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester said IUU fishing "destabilizes marine ecosystems and even has national security implications," and warned that cuts to NOAA could reduce enforcement and scientific capacity. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Sen. Ted Cruz also framed IUU fishing as both an environmental and security problem; Cruz described seizures of illegally caught fish off the Texas coast and called for more…