[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 283 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 283
To require the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology
and the Administrator of National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration to develop a standard methodology for identifying the
country of origin of seafood to support enforcement against illegal,
unreported, and unregulated fishing, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 28, 2025
Mr. Cruz (for himself, Mr. Schatz, Mrs. Britt, and Mr. Tuberville)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology
and the Administrator of National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration to develop a standard methodology for identifying the
country of origin of seafood to support enforcement against illegal,
unreported, and unregulated fishing, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Illegal Red Snapper and Tuna
Enforcement Act''.
SEC. 2. METHODOLOGY FOR IDENTIFYING THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN OF SEAFOOD.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration.
(2) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term
``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure and the Committee on Natural Resources
of the House of Representatives.
(3) Key agency leadership.--The term ``key agency
leadership'' means the Administrator and the Under Secretary in
consultation with the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection and the Commandant of the Coast Guard.
(4) Red snapper.--The term ``red snapper'' means the
species Lutjanus campechanus.
(5) Tuna.--The term ``tuna'' means the following species of
tuna:
(A) Bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus).
(B) Yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares).
(C) Bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus).
(6) Under secretary.--The term ``Under Secretary'' means
the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology
and the Director of the National Institute of Standards and
Technology.
(b) Standard Methodology for Identification.--
(1) In general.--Key agency leadership shall, in accordance
with this section, jointly develop a standard methodology,
based on chemical analysis, for identifying the country of
origin of seafood to support enforcement against illegal,
unreported, and unregulated fishing.
(2) Requirements.--Key agency leadership shall ensure that
the methodology developed under this subsection--
(A) is consistent with the needs of Federal and
State law enforcement agencies in combating illegal,
unreported, and unregulated fishing;
(B) minimizes processing time;
(C) involves the use of a field kit that can be
easily carried by one individual; and
(D) to the extent practicable, can be used to test
prepared food, including raw preparations of seafood
such as ceviche, sashimi, sushi, and poke.
(3) Initial species for identification.--In developing the
methodology under this subsection, key agency leadership shall
conduct pilot studies on red snapper, as an example of a
stationary stock, and tuna, as an example of a highly migratory
stock.
(c) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Under Secretary shall submit to the appropriate
committees of Congress a report that includes the following:
(1) A summary of the methodology developed under subsection
(b).
(2) A plan for operationalizing the methodology developed
under subsection (b).
(3) In the event that any aspect of the methodology
developed under subsection (b) is impracticable, an explanation
of why, whether additional research would make developing such
a methodology practicable, and whether a different approach
other than chemical analysis might be practicable.
SEC. 3. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR IUU FISHING ENFORCEMENT.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense is authorized to, in
coordination with the United States Coast Guard, expend funds
appropriated for the Department of Defense for operation and
maintenance to provide maritime technical assistance to maritime forces
from other nations in efforts to combat illegal, unreported, or
unregulated fishing (commonly known as ``IUU fishing'') and other
transnational organized crime. Such technical assistance may include
providing observers, shipriders, and specialized personnel to deploy
with such maritime forces, in addition to remote sensing, analysis of
data, and operational intelligence, as appropriate and consistent with
United States law and policy.
(b) Application of Authority.--The authority provided under
subsection (a) shall apply to the use of the United States Coast Guard
members deployed to and operating aboard Department of Defense, partner
nation, or international partner platforms, as well as partner nation
personnel operating aboard United States military and Coast Guard
assets or international partner vessels, as appropriate.
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