The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee has approved the Stop Illegal Fishing Act, which would allow the president to impose sanctions on foreign individuals and vessels involved in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The bill is aimed at addressing concerns about large foreign fishing fleets, particularly those from China.
In a joint statement, U.S. Representative Gregory Meeks (D-New York) and U.S. Representative Young Kim (R-California) said: “Fleets of illegal fishing vessels are devastating sensitive fish populations, harming food security and local economies around the world. Nearly half of these vessels, 44 percent, originate from China. If Beijing won’t hold these exploitive vessels and individuals accountable, the U.S. must. That is why we’ve introduced legislation that would grant the president power to impose sanctions on any individual or entity engaging in IUU fishing.”
If enacted, the legislation would authorize sanctions against owners of vessels engaged in IUU fishing, leaders at companies involved in such activities, as well as captains and senior crew members. Sanctioned individuals could face frozen assets in the United States and revoked visas. The law would also require a presidential report listing all sanctioned individuals and vessels within 180 days.
U.S. Representative Brian Mast (R-Florida), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, criticized China’s distant water fishing practices: “It is a serious threat to coastal nations worldwide,” he said. “What it really is, it’s harassment. It is mostly a middle finger from the Chinese Communist Party to neighboring and coastal countries. The Chinese Communist Party oversees the largest illegal fishing fleet. They deplete fish stocks. They violate maritime laws. They harm local economies across the globe.”
Criticism of China’s seafood sector among lawmakers has increased following reports by the Outlaw Ocean Project that documented forced labor and other violations within China’s domestic processing sector and distant water fleet.
The first report published in 2023 alleged that Uyghur workers were forced into labor at seafood-processing plants under abusive conditions by Chinese authorities. Further reports detailed poor working conditions on squid-harvesting vessels and use of North Korean labor at processing facilities—an international law violation—with an estimated 47,000 metric tons of seafood processed with Uyghur labor entering U.S markets.
During a December 1 markup session for the Stop Illegal Fishing Act, U.S. Representative Chris Smith (R-New Jersey)—who chaired a Congressional-Executive Commission on China hearing on forced labor in China’s seafood supply chain—called for support for the bill: “China’s fleet is filled to overflowing with forced labor,” Smith said. “On the open seas, cut off from contact with the land, harsh and very cruel punishment is meted out to laborers, who are treated as slaves – wages are withheld. Captive peoples, especially the Uyghurs, are often conscripted onto these boats.”
Smith has served in Congress representing New Jersey’s 4th District since 1981 after replacing Frank Thompson and was born in Rahway, New Jersey in 1953.
Lawmakers have called for further investigation into links between forced labor and seafood imports from China as well as blocking such imports entirely.
In response to these concerns:
– In 2024, seafood was added to a high-priority list under enforcement efforts related to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA).
– Imports from Shandong Meijia Group were banned under this law.
– The Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force held three webinars last year outlining government actions enforcing UFLPA.
Legislators are also working toward passing additional measures such as the Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvest (FISH) Act—which would blacklist vessels involved in IUU fishing from entering U.S waters.
“The FISH Act gives us more enforcement tools in response to illegal fishing,” said U.S Representative Val Hoyle (D-Oregon). “It creates a list for illegal vessels, holds vessel owners accountable, and improves tracking of foreign boats, which helps keep illegal seafood out of American stores through sanctions and import restrictions, protecting consumers and vulnerable workers.”
The Senate passed its version of this act as part of an annual defense appropriations bill; however differences remain between House and Senate versions regarding provisions like exceptions for government purchases or bans on military procurement from Chinese sources.
Negotiations over final language continue.
