U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) praised the Senate Commerce Committee for advancing the Illegal Red Snapper Enforcement Act, a bipartisan bill she co-sponsored with Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.). The legislation seeks to curb illegal fishing practices by developing a method to identify the country of origin for red snapper imported into the United States.
Under this bill, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) would collaborate to create a field test kit capable of determining whether red snapper was caught in U.S. or Mexican waters. While current technology can trace the geographic origin of many foods, such tools do not yet exist for red snapper. This proposed kit would enable the Coast Guard and law enforcement officers to identify illegally caught fish before they re-enter the U.S. seafood market.
Each year, around 100,000 red snapper are harvested from Alabama’s coast, making up nearly a third of the recreational catch in the Gulf of Mexico. The fishing industry in Alabama supports over 12,000 jobs and generates more than $1.1 billion in sales annually.
“Red snapper is vital to Coastal Alabama’s economy,” said Senator Britt. “This bill would combat illegal activities by cartel-backed poachers who threaten our hardworking fishermen and undermine our territorial sovereignty. I’m grateful to Senator Cruz for helping to advance this commonsense legislation through the Senate Commerce Committee, and I urge Senator Schumer to bring it to the Senate floor.”
The Illegal Red Snapper Enforcement Act addresses the issue of Mexican fishermen crossing into U.S. waters on small boats known as “lanchas” to illegally catch red snapper. These fish are then either sold in Mexico or mixed with legally caught fish before being exported to the U.S. This illegal fishing undermines U.S. fishermen and seafood producers, violating national and international fishing regulations.
Cartels involved in drug smuggling and human trafficking are also linked to these illegal fishing activities, using the same boats for both fishing and smuggling operations. By developing a reliable method for tracing the origins of red snapper, law enforcement would gain better insight into the criminal networks facilitating illegal fishing. If successful, this technology could be expanded to combat other types of illegal fishing as well.
Having passed the Senate Commerce Committee, the legislation now heads to the full Senate for consideration.
