S. 688 — Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvests Act of 2025

This section defines terms used in the Act, including (1) Administrator as the NOAA Administrator or designee; (2) beneficial owner as a person exercising substantial control over a vessel or owning at least 50% of its ownership interests; (3) fish as finfish, crustaceans, and mollusks; (4) forced labor as defined in section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307); (5) IUU fishing as activities described as illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing in paragraph 3 of the FAO's 2001 International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter, and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing; (6) regional fisheries management organization (RFMO) as defined in section 303 of the Port State Measures Agreement Act of 2015 (16 U.S.C. 7402); (7) seafood as fish, shellfish, processed fish, fish meal, shellfish products, and all other forms of marine animal and plant life other than marine mammals and birds; and (8) Secretary as the Secretary of Commerce acting through the NOAA Administrator or designee.

This section establishes a statement of U.S. policy to partner, consult, and coordinate with foreign governments (national and subnational levels), civil society, international organizations, international financial institutions, subnational coastal communities, commercial and recreational fishing industry leaders, artisanal or subsistence fishing communities, fishers, and the private sector to counter illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing—including potential links to forced labor, human trafficking, and other maritime security threats, as outlined in sections 3533 and 3534 of the Maritime SAFE Act (16 U.S.C. 8002, 8003)—and to prioritize prevention of IUU fishing at its sources and support implementation of the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement, including joint research and follow-on actions for fish stock sustainability in Arctic international waters.

This section establishes an IUU (illegal, unreported, or unregulated) vessel list of foreign vessels, fleets, and beneficial owners engaged in IUU fishing or related activities (e.g., transshipment to listed vessels), to be developed, maintained, and publicly posted on a website (with annual Federal Register publication) by the Secretary of Commerce in coordination with other agencies. The list includes vessels for which there is clear and convincing evidence of criteria such as (1) inclusion on a regional fishery management organization (RFMO) IUU list; (2) exceeding RFMO catch limits or allocations; (3) U.S.-reported IUU activity ignored by the flag nation; (4) high seas IUU fishing identified by U.S. authorities; (5) providing non-emergency services to listed vessels; (6) unpermitted fishing in the U.S. exclusive economic zone; or (7) shared beneficial ownership with listed vessels. It further directs nominations from specified U.S. agencies, RFMO-member countries, or qualified civil organizations; notification and 90-day response periods for owners; hearings before the Interagency Working Group on IUU Fishing; published addition/removal procedures; and detailed public vessel information (e.g., IMO number, beneficial owner address). This section authorizes the Secretary to apply prior-law actions (e.g., port entry denial) against listed vessels, owners, and operators and makes list placement generally permanent, subject to owner removal applications in consultation with other agencies.

This section establishes visa sanctions against foreign persons (i.e., non-U.S. persons) who own or beneficially own vessels identified on the illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing vessel list maintained by the Secretary of Commerce under the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1826i(c)). Such persons are inadmissible to the United States, ineligible for visas or other entry documentation, and subject to immediate revocation of any current visas; the President may waive these sanctions if in the U.S. national interest, with exceptions for authorized U.S. intelligence or law enforcement activities, compliance with certain international agreements, provision of safety-related services to listed vessels and crews, and listings resulting from force, threats, fraud, or coercion. (As background, the IUU vessel list identifies vessels engaged in fishing activities that undermine international conservation and management measures.)

This section encourages the President, in negotiating relevant agreements with foreign nations after enactment, to consider impacts on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and fishing involving forced labor and to strengthen related enforcement efforts, provided such considerations do not compromise higher U.S. national interests. It further states that the federal government should encourage other nations to ratify U.S.-party IUU fishing treaties—including the High Seas Fishing Compliance Agreement and Port State Measures Agreement—and pursue bilateral and multilateral initiatives addressing IUU fishing drivers and forced labor fishing through forums such as the G7, G20, United Nations, International Labor Organization, and International Maritime Organization, with clear burden-sharing arrangements. It designates any memorandum of understanding or other non-binding instrument concluded for these purposes as a qualifying non-binding instrument under 1 U.S.C. 112b (thus subjecting it to existing monthly reporting requirements to congressional leaders, including the text, cited legal authorities, and implementation needs).

This section directs the Coast Guard Commandant to increase year-over-year observations of, and consider boarding to the greatest extent practicable, high seas vessels suspected of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and related harmful practices. The section further requires the Administrator, in consultation with the Coast Guard Commandant and Secretary of State, to coordinate regularly with regional fisheries management organizations on corrective actions taken by countries whose registered or documented vessels were boarded for suspected IUU fishing. Finally, the section requires the Coast Guard Commandant to submit a report to Congress not later than three years after enactment detailing (1) bilateral agreements used in counter-IUU patrols, future patrol plans, and changes to IUU provisions in such agreements; (2) observed IUU fishing incidents during high seas boarding and inspections (HSBI), post-referral tracking, and country enforcement actions; (3) registration details and status of interdicted or observed IUU vessels; (4) details on IUU observations, boarding refusals, and responses; and (5) other potential high seas enforcement actions.

This section expands the duties of the Interagency Working Group on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing under the Maritime SAFE Act by requiring the working group to (1) develop a strategy for leveraging enforcement capacity against IUU fishing, particularly focusing on nations identified under 16 U.S.C. 1826j(a) (i.e., nations whose vessels have engaged in IUU fishing that undermines international fishery management organization measures or where no such organization exists); and (2) develop a strategy for leveraging enforcement capacity against associated abuses, such as fishing involving forced labor or other illegal labor practices, using resources including the Department of Labor's List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor, the State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report, U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Forced Labor Division and enforcement under 19 U.S.C. 1307, and reports under the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020. Separately, this section directs the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Commandant of the Coast Guard and the NOAA Administrator, to (1) identify regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) to which the United States is a party that lack a high seas boarding and inspection program; and (2) identify obstacles, needed authorities, or existing efforts to increase implementation of such programs and take action as appropriate.

This section directs the Interagency Working Group on Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and Related Threats to Seafood Safety (Working Group), established under the Maritime SAFE Act to combat IUU fishing and enhance maritime security, to submit a report not later than three years after enactment of the Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvests Act of 2025. The report must identify information and resources to prevent fish products from IUU fishing or involving forced labor from negatively affecting U.S. commerce without increasing burdens on non-IUU seafood and include the following: (1) identification of relevant data streams collected by Working Group members; (2) identification of legal, jurisdictional, or other barriers to data sharing; (3) in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, recommendations for joint enforcement protocols, collaboration, and information sharing between federal agencies and states; (4) recommendations for sharing and developing forensic resources between federal agencies and states; (5) recommendations for enhancing capacity for effective field investigations and enforcement with U.S. state officials; (6) recommendations for improving data collection and automated risk-targeting of seafood; (7) recommendations for disseminating IUU fishing and forced labor analysis to governmental and nongovernmental entities to support action and awareness, including establishing an IUU fishing information sharing center; (8) recommendations for an implementation strategy ensuring non-IUU/forced labor seafood is unaffected; and (9) analysis of other countries' IUU fishing policies and regulatory regimes to develop U.S. alternatives.

This section (1) encourages the Secretaries of State and Commerce, in consultation with relevant agencies, to increase support for programs providing technical assistance, institutional capacity, and investment to foreign fisheries sectors for sustainable management and to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and fishing involving forced labor, with a focus on priority regions and flag states identified under section 3552(b) of the Maritime SAFE Act (16 U.S.C. 8032(b)); and (2) directs the Interagency Working Group on IUU Fishing to analyze U.S. capacity-building expertise and resources for such support, including potential public-private and multilateral collaborations to develop local fisheries science, management, maritime enforcement, and judicial capabilities.

This section directs the Secretary, in coordination with heads of other relevant agencies, to (1) develop a strategy for utilizing U.S. government data to identify seafood harvested on foreign vessels using forced labor; and (2) publish information on the strategy on a publicly accessible website.

This section requires (1) the Secretary of Homeland Security, with support from the NOAA Administrator and the interagency Working Group on maritime security and illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, to assess the impact of new technologies (e.g., remote observing, drones, risk assessment tools, data-sharing software, immediate containerization of fish, and satellite Wi-Fi) on IUU fishing and associated crimes (e.g., trafficking, forced labor) and propose integration into global fisheries enforcement, with the study due not later than 1 year after enactment; and (2) the Secretary of State, with support from the Secretary of Commerce, to study collaboration between the Russian and Chinese fishing industries—including Chinese reprocessing of Russian seafood—and its impact on U.S. interests, with a report (including classified and unclassified portions) due not later than 2 years after enactment. This section further amends the provision establishing the interagency Working Group by adding a new subsection (d) directing the NOAA Administrator, in consultation with the Working Group, to seek an arrangement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine for a study quantifying (A) the occurrence of IUU fishing and fishing involving forced labor among all flag states, (B) costs to the U.S. economy, (C) costs to the global economy, and (D) the effectiveness of U.S. and international response strategies; authorizes $2 million for the study; and requires the Administrator to submit a report to Congress on the study's findings and recommended knowledge gaps not later than 24 months after enactment.

This section extends authorization of appropriations to the Secretary for the National Sea Grant College Program—which supports university-based research, education, training, and extension on ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resource issues—at $105.7 million annually for FY2025 through FY2031 (from FY2025 only). It further revises the additional authorization, in the amount of $6 million annually, for competitive grants for priority activities—including university research on aquatic nonnative species, oyster diseases and restoration, harmful algal blooms, coastal resilience and working waterfronts, sustainable aquaculture, and fishery extension activities—to cover FY2026 through FY2031 (from FY2021 through FY2025).

This section excludes sanctions on the importation of goods from the authorities and requirements of this Act and its amendments. The term "good" means any article, natural or man-made substance, material, supply, or manufactured product, including inspection and test equipment, but excludes technical data.

This section provides a rule of construction clarifying that nothing in the Act limits the authority under, or otherwise affects, any provision of law in effect on the date of enactment that is not amended by the Act.