Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvests Act of 2022” or the “FISH Act of 2022”.
Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvests Act of 2022
A BILL
To combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing at its sources globally.
Sec. 2 Definitions
In this Act:
Administrator— Unless otherwise provided, the term Administrator means the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Exclusive economic zone— The term exclusive economic zone means the zone established by Presidential Proclamation Number 5030, dated March 10, 1983 (16 U.S.C. 1453 note; relating to the exclusive economic zone of the United States of America).
IUU fishing— The term IUU fishing means illegal fishing, unreported fishing, and unregulated fishing (as such terms are defined in paragraph 3 of the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter, and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, adopted at the 24th Session of the Committee on Fisheries in Rome on March 2, 2001).
Regional fisheries management organization— The terms regional fisheries management organization and RFMO have the meaning given the terms in section 303 of the Port State Measures Agreement Act of 2015 (16 U.S.C. 7402).
Sec. 3 Statement of policy
It is the policy of the United States to partner, consult, and coordinate with foreign governments (at the national and subnational levels), civil society, international organizations, international financial institutions, subnational coastal communities, commercial and recreational fishing industry leaders, communities that engage in artisanal or subsistence fishing, and the private sector, in a concerted effort—
to continue the broad effort across the Federal Government to counter IUU fishing and related threats to maritime security, as outlined in sections 3533 and 3534 of the Maritime SAFE Act (16 U.S.C. 8002 and 8003); and
to, additionally—
prioritize efforts to prevent IUU fishing at its sources; and
support continued implementation of the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries agreement, as well as joint research and follow-on actions that ensure sustainability of fish stocks in Arctic international waters.
Sec. 4 Black list
In general— The Administrator shall establish, publish, and put vessels on a United States black list that denies port privileges, certain travel through, delivery of supplies, delivery of services, or transshipment in the exclusive economic zone for vessels that have conducted IUU fishing and vessels that have the same owner as a vessel on the black list.
Standards— The Administrator shall set standards for establishing, maintaining, and publishing the black list.
Basis To be put on black list— The Administrator shall put a vessel on the black list if it is any of the following:
A vessel listed on an IUU fishing list of a regional fisheries management organization.
A vessel taking part in fishing outside RFMO quota arrangements on the high seas.
A vessel on the high seas identified and reported by United States authorities to be conducting IUU fishing.
A vessel that provides services (excluding emergency or enforcement services) to a vessel that is on the black list, including transshipment, resupply, refueling, or pilotage.
A foreign fishing vessel engaged in commercial fishing in the exclusive economic zone without a permit issued under title II of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1821 et seq.).
A vessel found by Customs and Border Protection to have had a withhold release order in contravention of section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307), provided that the withhold release order has not been subsequently revoked.
A vessel that has the same owner as a vessel on the black list.
A vessel subject to economic sanctions administered by the Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control for IUU fishing under Executive Order 13581 (76 Fed. Reg. 44757, 84 Fed. Reg. 10255; relating to blocking property of transnational criminal organizations), or any other economic sanctions program.
Nominations To be put on black list—
In general— The Administrator may accept nominations for placing a vessel on the black list from—
the head of an executive branch agency that is a member of the Interagency Working Group on IUU Fishing established under section 3551 of the Maritime SAFE Act (16 U.S.C. 8031); or
a country that is a member of the Combined Maritime Forces.
Due process— The Administrator may accept nominations for placing a vessel on the black list only after due process, including notification to the vessel’s owner and a review of any information that the owner provides.
Public Information— The Administrator shall publish the black list and include the following information for each vessel on the list:
The name of the vessel.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) number of the vessel.
The call sign of the vessel.
Each beneficial owner and owner's address of the vessel.
The registry/flag state of the vessel.
The date of inclusion on the black list of the vessel.
Any other identifying information on the vessel, as determined appropriate by the Administrator.
Consequences of being black listed—
In general— Except for the purposes of inspection and enforcement or in case of force majeure, a vessel on the black list is prohibited from—
accessing United States ports;
traveling through the United States exclusive economic zone unless it is conducting innocent passage; and
delivering supplies, delivering services, or transshipment in the United States exclusive economic zone.
Servicing prohibited— No vessel of the United States (defined in section 116 of title 46, United States Code) may service a vessel that is on the black list, except for emergency and enforcement services.
Enforcement of black list— A vessel on the black list and the cargo of such vessel shall be subject to section 70052 of title 46, United States Code.
Permanency of black list—
In general— Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), a vessel that is put on the black list shall remain on the black list.
Revocation of WRO— The Administrator shall remove a vessel from the black list if the vessel was added to the black list because it was found by Customs and Border Protection to have had a withhold release order in contravention of section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307) and the withhold release order was subsequently revoked.
Potential Reinstatement— In coordination with the Secretary of State, the Administrator may remove a vessel from the black list if the owner of the vessel submits an application for removal or an appeal to the Administrator. In considering the application, the Administrator shall consider all relevant information, including whether the vessel or vessel owner has engaged in IUU fishing during the 5-year period preceding the application.
Authorization of appropriations— There are authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Commerce to carry out this section $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2028.
Sec. 5 Imposition of sanctions with respect to beneficial owners of vessels on black list
In general— The President shall impose the sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect to each foreign person that the President determines, on or after the date of the enactment of this Act, is the beneficial owner of a vessel on the black list under section 4.
Sanctions described— The sanctions to be imposed under subsection (a) are the following:
Blocking of property— The exercise of all powers granted to the President by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the extent necessary to block and prohibit all transactions in all property and interests in property of a foreign person described in subsection (a), including the vessel of which the person is the beneficial owner, if such property and interests in property are in the United States, come within the United States, or are or come within the possession or control of a United States person.
Ineligibility for visas, admission, or parole—
Visas, admission, or parole— An alien described in subsection (a) is—
inadmissible to the United States;
ineligible to receive a visa or other documentation to enter the United States; and
otherwise ineligible to be admitted or paroled into the United States or to receive any other benefit under the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
Current visas revoked—
In general— The visa or other entry documentation of an alien described in subsection (a) shall be revoked, regardless of when such visa or other entry documentation is or was issued.
Immediate effect— A revocation under clause (i) shall—
take effect immediately; and
automatically cancel any other valid visa or entry documentation that is in the alien’s possession.
Implementation; penalties—
Implementation— The President may exercise all authorities provided under sections 203 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out this section.
Penalties— A person that violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of this section or any regulation, license, or order issued to carry out this section shall be subject to the penalties set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as a person that commits an unlawful act described in subsection (a) of that section.
National interest waiver— The President may waive the imposition of sanctions under this section with respect to a person if the President—
determines that such a waiver is in the national interests of the United States; and
submits to Congress a notification on the waiver and the reasons for the waiver.
Exceptions—
Exceptions for authorized intelligence and law enforcement activities— This section shall not apply with respect to activities subject to the reporting requirements under title V of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.) or any authorized intelligence or law enforcement activities of the United States.
Exception to comply with international agreements— Sanctions under subsection (b)(2) shall not apply with respect to the admission of an alien to the United States if such admission is necessary to comply with the obligations of the United States under the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force November 21, 1947, between the United Nations and the United States, or the Convention on Consular Relations, done at Vienna April 24, 1963, and entered into force March 19, 1967, or other international obligations.
Exception relating to importation of goods—
In general— The requirement to impose sanctions under this section shall not include the authority or a requirement to impose sanctions on the importation of goods.
Good defined— In this paragraph, the term good means any article, natural or manmade substance, material, supply, or manufactured product, including inspection and test equipment, and excluding technical data.
Definitions— In this section:
Admission; admitted; alien; lawfully admitted for permanent residence— The terms “admission”, “admitted”, “alien”, and “lawfully admitted for permanent residence” have the meanings given those terms in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101).
Beneficial owner— The term beneficial owner means, with respect to a vessel, a person that, directly or indirectly, through any contract, arrangement, understanding, relationship, or otherwise—
exercises substantial control over the vessel; or
owns or controls not less than 25 percent of the ownership interests in the vessel.
Foreign person— The term foreign person means an individual or entity that is not a United States person.
United states person— The term United States person means—
a United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the United States;
an entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States, including a foreign branch of such an entity; or
any person in the United States.
Sec. 6 Agreements
Presidential negotiation— In negotiating any relevant agreement with a foreign nation or nations after the date of enactment of this Act, the President shall consider the impacts on or to IUU fishing and strive to ensure that the agreement strengthens efforts to combat IUU fishing.
Secretary of State encouragement— Together with other partners if appropriate, the Secretary of State shall encourage other nations to ratify treaties and agreements that address IUU fishing to which the United States is a party, including the UN Fish Stocks Agreement, the Port State Measures Agreement, and other applicable agreements.
Sec. 7 Definition of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing
Definition of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in the high seas driftnet fishing moratorium protection Act— Section 609(e) of the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1826j(e)) is amended to read as follows:
“(e) Illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing defined—In this title, the terms illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing mean any activity set out in paragraph 3 of the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter, and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, adopted at the 24th Session of the Committee on Fisheries in Rome on March 2, 2001.”
Definition of illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing in the Magnuson-Stevens fishery conservation and management Act— Section 3 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1802) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(51) Illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing—The terms illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing, illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing mean any activity set out in paragraph 3 of the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter, and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, adopted at the 24th Session of the Committee on Fisheries in Rome on March 2, 2001.”
Sec. 8 Coast guard provisions
Increase boarding of vessels suspected of IUU fishing— The Commandant of the Coast Guard shall, in accordance with the UN Fish Stocks Agreement, increase, from year to year, its observation and boarding of vessels on the high seas that are suspected of IUU fishing, to the greatest extent practicable.
Follow up— The Commandant of the Coast Guard shall coordinate regularly with regional fisheries management organizations to determine what corrective measures each nation has taken after its vessels have been boarded for suspected IUU fishing.
Report— Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commandant of the Coast Guard shall submit a report to Congress on—
the total number of bilateral agreements that contain an IUU fishing nexus or authorities, and what the Coast Guard is doing to increase this percentage;
violations observed under the Coast Guard high seas boarding program, how the violations are tracked after referral to the respective flag state, and what actions are taken to document or otherwise act on the enforcement, or lack thereof, taken by a flag state;
the flag state and status of vessels interdicted or observed to be engaged in IUU fishing on the high seas by the Coast Guard;
the flag state and status and incident details on vessels observed to violate international laws on the high seas, such as refusal to allow boarding, and what action was taken; and
any other potential enforcement actions that could decrease IUU fishing on the high seas.
Sec. 9 Improved management at the regional fisheries management organizations
Interagency Working Group on IUU fishing— Section 3551(c) of the Maritime SAFE Act (16 U.S.C. 8031(c)) is amended—
in paragraph (12), by striking “and” after the semicolon;
in paragraph (13), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(14) developing a strategy for leveraging enforcement capacity against IUU fishing, particularly focusing on nations identified under section 609(a) or 610(a) of the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1826j(a) and 1826k(a)); and
“(15) developing a strategy for leveraging enforcement capacity against IUU fishing and increasing enforcement and other actions across relevant import control and assessment programs, including—
“(A) the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor produced pursuant to section 105 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 (22 U.S.C. 7112);
“(B) the Trafficking in Persons Report required under section 110 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7107); and
“(C) United States Customs and Border Protection’s Forced Labor Division and enforcement activities and regulations authorized under section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307).”
Secretary of State identification— The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Commandant of the Coast Guard, shall—
identify regional fisheries management organizations that the United States is party to that do not have a high seas boarding program; and
identify obstacles, needed authorities, or existing efforts to increase implementation of these programs, and take action as appropriate.
Sec. 10 Strategies to optimize data collection, sharing, and analysis
Section 3552 of the Maritime SAFE Act (16 U.S.C. 8032) is amended by adding at the end:
“(c) Strategies To optimize data collection, sharing, and analysis—Not later than 2 years after the publication of the strategic plan submitted under subsection (a), the Working Group shall identify information and resources to prevent seafood products from IUU fishing from entering United States commerce without increasing burden or trade barriers on seafood not produced from IUU fishing. The report shall include the following:
“(1) Identification of relevant data streams collected by Working Group members.
“(2) Identification of legal, jurisdictional, or other barriers to the sharing of such data.
“(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 United States Customs and Border Protection and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to conduct more effective field investigations and enforcement efforts with State enforcement officials.
“(6) Recommendations for the dissemination of IUU fishing analysis and information to those entities that could use it for action and awareness, with the aim to establish an IUU fishing information sharing center.
“(7) Recommendations for an implementation strategy, including measures for ensuring that trade in seafood not linked to IUU fishing is not impeded.”
Sec. 11 Investment and technical assistance in the fisheries sector
In general— The Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, in consultation with the heads of relevant agencies, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and multilateral institutions such as the World Bank, shall increase support to programs that provide technical assistance and investment to nations’ fisheries sectors for sustainable fisheries management and combating IUU fishing. The focus of such support shall be on priority regions and priority flag states identified under section 3552(b) of the Maritime SAFE Act (16 U.S.C. 8032(b)).
Authorization of appropriations— There are authorized to be appropriated to the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development to carry out subsection (a) $10,000,000 for each such agency for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2028.
Sec. 12 Preventing importation of seafood and seafood products from foreign vessels using forced labor
Definitions— In this section:
Forced labor— The term forced labor has the meaning given that term in section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307).
Seafood— The term seafood means fish, shellfish, processed fish, fish meal, shellfish products, and all other forms of marine animal and plant life other than marine mammals and birds.
Secretary— The term Secretary means the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Forced labor on foreign fishing vessels—
Rulemaking— Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in coordination with the Secretary, shall issue regulations regarding the verification of seafood imports to ensure that no seafood or seafood product harvested on foreign vessels using forced labor is entered into the United States in violation of section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307).
Strategy— The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in coordination with the Secretary and the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating, shall—
develop a strategy for utilizing relevant U.S. Government data to identify imports of seafood or seafood products harvested on foreign vessels using forced labor; and
publish information regarding the strategy developed under subparagraph (A) on the website of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Sec. 13 Reports
Impact of new technology— Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in coordination with the Working Group established under section 3551 of the Maritime SAFE Act (16 U.S.C. 8031), shall conduct a study to assess the impact of new technology (such as remote observing, the use of drones, development of risk assessment tools and data-sharing software, immediate containerization of fish on fishing vessels, and other technology-enhanced new fishing practices) on IUU fishing and propose ways to integrate these technologies into global fisheries enforcement and management.
Russian and chinese fishing industries’ influence on each other and on the united states seafood and fishing industry— Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, with support from the Secretary of Commerce and the Office of the United States Trade Representative, shall—
conduct a study on the collaboration between the Russian and Chinese fishing industries and on the role of seafood reprocessing in China (including that of raw materials originating in Russia) in global seafood markets and its impact on United States seafood importers, processors, and consumers; and
complete a report on the study that includes classified and unclassified portions, as the Secretary of State determines necessary.
Fishermen conducting unlawful fishing in the economic exclusion zone— Section 3551 of the Maritime SAFE Act (16 U.S.C. 8031) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(d) Report—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvests Act of 2022, the chair of the Working Group in coordination with members of the Working Group, shall submit a report to Congress on foreign fishermen who were detained or arrested in the exclusive economic zone, how many were referred to prosecution and the outcome of the cases, and what authorities, or obstacles to overcome, are needed to increase the prosecution referral rate.
“(e) The impacts of IUU fishing—The Administrator, in consultation with relevant members of the Working Group, shall seek to enter into an arrangement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine under which the National Academies will undertake a multifaceted study that includes the following:
“(1) An analysis that quantifies the occurrence and extent of IUU fishing among flag states.
“(2) An evaluation of the costs to the United States economy of IUU fishing.
“(3) An assessment of the costs to the global economy of IUU fishing.”
Report— Not later than 24 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report on the study conducted under subsection (e) of section 3551 of the Maritime SAFE Act that includes—
the findings of the National Academies; and
recommendations on knowledge gaps that warrant further scientific inquiry.