H.R. 9507 — FISH Act of 2026

This section defines key terms for the Act, including the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, beneficial owner of a vessel, fish, forced labor, IUU fishing, regional fisheries management organization, seafood, and the Secretary of Commerce.

This section declares United States policy to partner and coordinate with foreign governments at national and subnational levels, civil society, international organizations, international financial institutions, coastal communities, fishing industry leaders, artisanal fishers, and the private sector to counter illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, including links to forced labor, human trafficking, and maritime security threats. It further directs prioritization of prevention at sources and continued implementation of the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement along with joint research to sustain fish stocks in Arctic international waters.

This section establishes a public IUU vessel list of foreign vessels, fleets, and beneficial owners engaged in illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing or related activities. The Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Labor, and other agencies, must add vessels meeting any of seven specified criteria, including listing by an international fishery management organization, exceeding catch limits, operating without a U.S. permit in the U.S. exclusive economic zone, or providing support services to listed vessels. The Secretary must notify beneficial owners, allow 90 days for response and a hearing on new evidence, publish detailed vessel information annually in the Federal Register and on a website, and may remove vessels only upon application showing compliance.

This section bars foreign persons who own or beneficially own vessels on the IUU vessel list from admission to the United States, from receiving visas or other entry documentation, and from any other immigration benefits. It requires immediate revocation of any existing visas or entry documents held by such persons. The President may waive the sanctions for national interest reasons, subject to exceptions for authorized intelligence and law enforcement activities, compliance with international agreements, vessel and crew safety provisions, and listings obtained through force or coercion.

This section encourages the President to consider impacts on illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and forced labor fishing when negotiating agreements with foreign nations, provided such considerations do not compromise higher-priority U.S. national interests. It directs the Federal Government to encourage ratification of relevant treaties, including the High Seas Fishing Compliance Agreement and Port State Measures Agreement, and to pursue bilateral and multilateral initiatives through the G7, G20, United Nations, ILO, and IMO that address underlying drivers of these practices, subject to clear burden-sharing arrangements. It applies transparency requirements under 1 U.S.C. 112b to any memorandum of understanding or other non-binding instrument concluded under this section.

This section directs the Coast Guard to increase, from year to year, its observation and boarding of vessels suspected of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing on the high seas. It requires the Administrator, in consultation with the Coast Guard and State Department, to coordinate with regional fisheries management organizations on corrective measures taken by flag countries after boardings and mandates a Coast Guard report to Congress within 3 years detailing bilateral agreements, observed incidents, vessel tracking, and enforcement actions.

This section requires the Interagency Working Group on IUU Fishing to develop a strategy for leveraging enforcement capacity against IUU fishing, with particular focus on nations identified under section 609(a) of the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act, and a second strategy for leveraging enforcement against associated abuses such as forced labor in fishing. It directs the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Coast Guard Commandant and NOAA Administrator, to identify regional fisheries management organizations to which the United States is a party that lack high seas boarding and inspection programs, identify obstacles to implementation, and take appropriate action.

This section directs the Working Group to identify, within 3 years of enactment of the Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvests Act of 2026, information and resources to prevent seafood from IUU fishing or forced labor fishing from affecting U.S. commerce. The required report must address relevant data streams, legal barriers to sharing, joint enforcement protocols with the Department of Defense, forensic resources, state enforcement capacity, automated risk targeting, dissemination to an IUU fishing information sharing center, an implementation strategy that avoids burdens on legitimate seafood, and analysis of other countries’ policies.

This section encourages the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Commerce to increase technical assistance, institutional capacity, and investment in nations’ fisheries sectors for sustainable management and to combat IUU fishing and forced labor fishing, with emphasis on priority regions and flag states identified under the Maritime SAFE Act. It requires the Interagency Working Group on IUU Fishing to analyze U.S. capacity-building expertise and resources, including options for public-private and multilateral collaboration on fisheries science, management, enforcement, and judicial capabilities.

This section directs the Secretary, in coordination with other relevant agencies, to develop a strategy using United States Government data to identify seafood harvested on foreign vessels using forced labor and to publish the strategy on a publicly accessible website.

This section directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to study the impact of new technologies such as drones, remote observing, and satellite Wi-Fi on IUU fishing and associated crimes and to propose integration into enforcement, due within 1 year of enactment. It requires the Secretary of State to study Russian-Chinese fishing industry collaboration and its effects on U.S. interests, with a classified and unclassified report due within 2 years. It adds a mandate for the Working Group to arrange a National Academies study quantifying IUU fishing and forced-labor fishing across flag states, assessing costs to the U.S. and global economies, and evaluating response strategies, with $2,000,000 authorized; the Administrator must report findings and recommendations to Congress within 24 months.

This section authorizes appropriations of $105,700,000 annually for the National Sea Grant College Program for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2032 (from fiscal year 2025). It also authorizes $6,000,000 annually for competitive grants supporting university research and extension on aquatic nonnative species, oyster diseases, harmful algal blooms, coastal resilience, sustainable aquaculture, and fisheries for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2032 (from fiscal years 2021 through 2025).

This section limits sanctions authorities under this Act by prohibiting any requirement to impose sanctions on the importation of goods. It defines a good as any article, natural or man-made substance, material, supply, or manufactured product, including inspection and test equipment, but excluding technical data.

This section provides 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.