Illinois Representative and Ranking Member of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Raja Krishnamoorthi, along with fellow legislators, are opposing the illicit fishing activities orchestrated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The lawmakers claim continuous violations and mismanagement on the part of the People's Republic of China (PRC).
According to a press release from the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Krishnamoorthi, alongside Committee Chairman Mike Gallagher and other legislators, penned a letter addressed to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator Richard Spinrad. The letter expressed concerns regarding the lack of action taken to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing by the CCP, which poses a significant risk of depleting fisheries.
"Urgent action is needed," said Krishnamoorthi. "Past approaches to combatting IUU fishing by the PRC and efforts to stop forced labor have been insufficient, putting our fisherman and seafood producers at a competitive disadvantage, damaging marine ecosystems, and implicating U.S. consumers in forced labor."
The legislators' letter also called for trade restrictions on Chinese seafood products due to concerns over forced labor on Chinese fishing fleets that implicate the United States. The PRC is accountable for "more than a third of all global deepwater fishing" and currently has a fleet of 17,000 vessels, according to the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
The NOAA's report, released in August 2023, implicates the PRC along with eight other nations in IUU fishing, unregulated shark catches, and forced labor within the seafood sector. The report alleges that the PRC is responsible for all three of these violations.
"IUU fishing and other unsustainable fishing practices undermine U.S. and global efforts to sustainably manage fisheries and conserve marine resources," said Janet Coit, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries. "Combating these practices is a top priority of the United States, and we'll work with each identified nation and entity to remedy these activities and strengthen their fisheries management and enforcement practices."
