S.Amdt. 3434

The amendment, titled the Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvests Act of 2025 (or the FISH Act of 2025), aims to add a new subtitle to bill S. 2296 to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and the use of forced labor in the fishing industry.

The amendment proposes the following changes and additions:

• IUU Vessel List: It requires the Secretary of Commerce to create and maintain a public list of foreign vessels, fleets, and beneficial owners engaged in IUU fishing or activities that support it. Vessels on this list may be prohibited from traveling through U.S. territorial seas (unless conducting innocent passage) and from receiving supplies or services in U.S. waters.

• Visa Sanctions: Owners or beneficial owners of vessels on the IUU vessel list will be ineligible for U.S. visas and admission or parole into the United States, and any current visas they hold will be revoked.

• Enforcement and Oversight:

  • Directs the Coast Guard to increase the observation and boarding of suspected IUU vessels on the high seas.
  • Requires the development of strategies to optimize data sharing to prevent IUU seafood and products made with forced labor from entering U.S. commerce.
  • Encourages the President to include IUU and forced labor considerations in negotiations with foreign nations.

• Research and Reporting: Mandates several studies and reports, including the impact of new technology on IUU fishing, the influence of Russian and Chinese fishing industries, and an analysis of the economic costs of IUU fishing to the U.S. and global economies.

• Funding: Authorizes $10,000,000 annually from 2025 through 2030 for the Department of Commerce to carry out the IUU vessel list requirements and $2,000,000 for a study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.