Alabama Senators Push Forward Red Snapper Legislation to Curb Illegal Fishing

New Legislation Aims to Protect U.S. Market from Illegal Mexican Fishing

Alabama senators are backing a new piece of legislation in the United States Senate designed to safeguard the U.S. market from illegal red snapper fishing by Mexican poachers. However, this initiative hinges on the development of new technology.

Three Republican senators—Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, alongside Ted Cruz of Texas—are championing the bill. This legislation calls on the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to devise a method for creating nationality field test kits for red snapper, with a two-year deadline.

If passed, the bill mandates the under secretary of commerce for standards & technology, currently Laurie Locascio, and the director of the NIST to collaborate with the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. Their task will be to develop a “joint standard of methodology based on chemical analysis for identifying the country of origin of red snapper.”

By the end of the two-year period, a comprehensive report detailing the developed methods and a plan for operationalizing the methodology must be submitted. This plan is specified as “a field kit that can be easily carried by one individual,” requires minimal processing time, and meets the needs of law enforcement officers.

A statement from Britt’s office highlighted that the Senate Commerce Committee had advanced the bill, making it ready for full Senate consideration.

“Red snapper is vital to Coastal Alabama’s economy, and I’m proud to support our hardworking fishermen and food producers,” Britt stated. “This bill aims to combat illegal activities by cartel-backed poachers threatening the livelihoods of law-abiding Americans and our territorial sovereignty. I appreciate Senator Cruz’s efforts in guiding this crucial legislation through the Senate Commerce Committee. Now, Senator Schumer should bring this commonsense bill to the Senate floor.”

Britt and Tuberville argue that Mexican fishermen, operating illegally in U.S. waters, catch red snapper which are then sold in Mexico or mixed with legally caught fish and exported back to the U.S.

According to Britt, NIST scientists, utilizing machine learning, can chemically determine the geographic origin of various foods. They believe similar methodologies could identify the origin of red snapper.

A response from NIST regarding this matter was pending at the time of publication.

Britt and Tuberville also claim that the same boats used for illegal fishing are involved in smuggling drugs and humans for Mexican cartels, though evidence for this is limited. They reference a RAND report highlighting Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported (IUU) fishing as a significant risk to U.S. maritime security. The report, primarily focused on administrative solutions, briefly mentions the possibility of forced labor on illegal fishing vessels but does not connect this to Mexican cartels or red snapper specifically.

IUU fishing is widely recognized as a significant issue with economic and environmental repercussions. In 2023, Mexico joined numerous countries, including the U.S., in an international agreement to combat it. Britt and Tuberville suggest that if their red snapper testing method proves successful, it could be adapted for other fish.

“Alabama lands 34 percent of all recreationally caught Red Snapper in the Gulf,” Tuberville said in March. “Our domestic Red Snapper industry is being undermined by Mexican fishermen who illegally catch these fish, smuggle them into Mexico, and resell them to Americans. These illegal operations also fund cartels. I’m proud to join Senator Cruz in introducing the Illegal Red Snapper Enforcement Act to stop this and support our fishermen.”