By SUZANNE DOWNING
March 23, 2026 – US Sen. Dan Sullivan’s bill to fight illegal foreign seafood unanimously passed the Senate.
The Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvest (FISH) Act targets illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing by blacklisting offending vessels from US ports and waters, strengthening US Coast Guard enforcement, and pushing for enforceable international agreements to combat unlawful harvesting practices.
The bill is co-sponsored by Sens. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Lisa Murkowski, Roger Wicker, Lindsey Graham, Jeff Merkley, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Chris Coons, John Kennedy, and Cindy Hyde-Smith.
A House companion measure has been introduced by Rep. Nick Begich.
Sullivan emphasized the Alaska impact, pointing to increased activity by foreign fleets in waters near the state.
“The geopolitics of the North Pacific and the Arctic are changing dramatically, with Russia and China increasing their aggression and ruinous activities near Alaska’s waters,” Sullivan said. “One particularly insidious threat is Chinese and Russian trawl fleets that ignore basic seafood harvest rules and best practices, and ravage fish stocks without regard for any other users or future generations.”
Whitehouse said the bill is designed to protect fishermen who follow regulations from unfair global competition.
“By cracking down on illegal pirate fishing, we are leveling the playing field for hardworking fishermen who play by the rules,” he said.
Industry leaders in Alaska said illegal foreign harvests have depressed prices and harmed coastal economies.
Jeremy Woodrow, executive director of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, noted that Alaska seafood competes globally against products that may not meet the same sustainability standards.
“When these unchecked seafood products enter the global marketplace, they undercut the value of responsibly produced seafood,” Woodrow said. “This impacts not only the marketplace but drives down the economic returns to Alaska’s fishing communities.”
Gabriel Prout, president of Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers and a third-generation fisherman, said the issue has cost Alaska fishermen heavily.
“This problem has cost Alaska fishermen over a billion dollars over the years,” he said.
Matt Alward, president of United Fishermen of Alaska, said illegal foreign fishing worsens already difficult conditions facing the state’s seafood sector.
“Illegal, unreported and unregulated foreign fishing exacerbates these challenges by undercutting lawful and sustainably caught American seafood,” he said.
The legislation would direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish a blacklist of foreign vessels and owners engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. It also directs federal agencies to address illegal fishing in international agreements and expands Coast Guard partnerships and at-sea inspections of suspected vessels.
The bill further requires reports to Congress on how emerging technologies can be used to combat illegal fishing, the seafood trade relationship between Russia and China, and the economic cost of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing to the United States.
Support for the measure also came from seafood processors and advocacy groups. Silver Bay Seafoods CEO Cora Campbell said the legislation would “increase accountability for countries that do not have the same standards,” while representatives from Oceana, the National Fisheries Institute, and the Natural Resources Defense Council said the bill would help identify bad actors and protect lawful harvesters.
The FISH Act builds on previous efforts by Sullivan and Whitehouse to address ocean sustainability, including the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act signed into law in 2020.
The legislation previously passed the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee unanimously in April 2025 and later cleared the Senate as part of the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, but was not included in the final version signed into law. The bill’s standalone unanimous passage now sends it forward for consideration in the House.
2 thoughts on “Sullivan bill that fights illegal foreign seafood advances from Senate with unanimous support”
I hope this ends up being more than a “strongly worded letter” to foreign fishing fleets.
Yes-man Dan needs to focus on reining in the most corrupt domestic threat to America since forever. He needs to sand up to Trump and recognize that Trump’s support is no longer of value for him, just the opposite. Thankfully, Trump will tank Sullivan’s reelection. All the democrats have to do is show the lockstep.