Bipartisan lawmakers urge Biden to lead on illegal fishing
House lawmakers wrote to the president on the issue ahead of the U.N. Ocean Conference.
June 02, 2022
House lawmakers from both parties are asking President Joe Biden for the U.S. to take a leading role in fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated international fishing.
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), chair of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife, and Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) urged the president to introduce new regulations to stop illegal fishing and human trafficking operations that account for up to a third of annual seafood around the world. They sent Biden a letter ahead of the United Nations Ocean Conference at the end of this month.
“The effects ripple throughout ocean ecosystems and coastal communities," said the letter. "However, the impacts of [illegal, unreported and unregulated] fishing extend far beyond environmental health. On the high seas, where accountability is lacking, IUU fishing is often connected with illicit activities such as human trafficking and forced labor."
The lawmakers wrote: “Not only is forced labor in seafood supply chains a scourge for responsible fisheries management and global human rights, it also harms honest coastal economies, consumers, and American fishers who are already facing an onslaught of challenges and are forced to compete in markets that are rife with unfair foreign trade practices."
The U.S is the world’s largest importer of seafood, and the U.S. International Trade Commission estimates 11 percent of those shipments were from illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in 2019.
A report from advocacy group Oceana last year estimated that as much as 32 percent of all wild-caught fish came from illegal or questionable sources. The report also said nearly 30 percent of seafood sampled by the group was mislabeled (E&E News PM, March 4, 2021).
The lawmakers say problematic imports signal an economic reliance on transnational crime. Huffman and Graves called Russia and China as the top offenders.
The lawmakers are sponsoring H.R. 3075, the "Illegal Fishing and Forced Labor Prevention Act," to increase the traceability of IUU fishing. Major provisions from the bill passed the House earlier this year in competitiveness and Coast Guard bills.
The U.N. Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, will take place from June 27 to July 1 and will focus on ocean threats like pollution and climate change. The meeting will also focus on the economy and governance.
By: Jack Forrest
Source: E&E News
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