U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) has introduced an amendment to incorporate the Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvest (FISH) Act into the annual funding bill for the U.S. Department of Defense.
The FISH Act would create a blacklist of vessels with a history of conducting illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities. Fishing vessels on the list would be banned from entering U.S. waters, and the legislation also would require the U.S. Coast Guard to increase at-sea inspections of vessels it suspects may be engaged in IUU fishing.
The bill would require the U.S. government to conduct a pair of reports: one detailing how new technology can be used to combat IUU fishing and one explaining how the Russian and Chinese fishing industries affect each other and the U.S. market.
Sullivan and U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) first introduced the legislation in 2022. U.S. senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), and Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) joined the duo in reintroducing the legislation in 2023.
“Our fishery’s extraordinary abundance is the result of responsible stewards who’ve followed the rules and sustainably managed this incredible resource,” Sullivan said when introducing the bill in April 2023. “But, not all vessels and countries abide by these rules, ravaging fish stocks without regard for other users or future generations – particularly the worst offender, China. My colleagues and I have assembled a package to tackle this foreign threat to the sustainability of our oceans by ratcheting up inspection and enforcement, raising the costs for the purveyors of foreign illegal fishing and working with other nations to eliminate any safe harbor for illegal fishermen and their backers. The FISH Act is an all-hands-on-deck effort to crack down on foreign IUU fishing for the sake of our fish, our environment, and our coastal communities.”
However, the bill has not progressed in the year since it was reintroduced. It was immediately referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in April 2023, which has not considered the bill or brought it up for a vote. Now, Sullivan is hoping to forward the legislation by attaching it to the annual bill authorizing spending for the U.S. Department of Defense. Sullivan submitted the amendment 9 July. It has not yet been brought up for a vote.
The Senate version of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which has a topline budget of USD 912 billion (EUR 839 billion), was introduced 8 July. The current language in the bill also calls on the U.S. to work with Pacific Island countries on stopping IUU fishing as part of the U.S. government’s ongoing strategic competition with China.
In June, Sullivan claimed to secure USD 790 million (EUR 724 million) in military construction funding for the state of Alaska in the 2025 NDAA. The senator also took credit for a provision in the legislation that would ban military dining facilities and commissaries from buying seafood originating from or processed in China.
“I was honored to be able to secure provisions that improve the resources, facilities, and support that Alaska's service members and their families deserve,” Sullivan said. “Importantly for hardworking Alaskans, I fought to include amendments that prohibit Chinese seafood from being sold in U.S. military commissaries or dining facilities.”
Sullivan has also been a leading figure in efforts to expand a federal ban on Russian seafood in the U.S. In 2023, Sullivan introduced legislation that would close a loophole allowing Russian-origin seafood processed in another country to then be imported to the U.S., circumnavigating the ban. Sullivan pushed for the bill in a fiery speech on the Senate floor, harshly criticizing fellow lawmakers for not immediately adopting his provision.
“If you’re against this bill, you’re for Russian oligarchs who are still avoiding sanctions on seafood, you’re against the American fishermen whether in Alaska or Massachusetts – because they’re getting screwed by this uneven trade relationship – and you’re helping the Chinese,” Sullivan said. “I can’t imagine anyone being against this.”
In December 2023, U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order closing the loophole.
Another Sullivan provision banning the U.S. government from buying Chinese seafood or Russian seafood that was processed in China for the National School Lunch Program was passed by the Senate in November 2023.
Sullivan was also involved with a recent Group of Seven (G7) nations statement criticizing Russia's fishing and seafood practices.
