Ten Republican Senators Call for Ban on Snapper Imports
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and nine other Republicans asked the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to use import-restriction authorities to stop the import of illegally harvested red snapper.
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"A recent DHS Office of Inspector General report identifies that the Coast Guard only interdicts one in every five detected foreign fishing vessels, leaving nearly 80 percent of illegal incursions unchallenged and free to enter domestic commerce through opaque supply chains," they wrote.
They said the fishing helps fund the Gulf Cartel. "As long as access to the U.S. seafood market remains available without consequence for non-compliant actors, interdictions alone will not meaningfully alter this behavior."
They noted that NOAA has never used an import ban, as authorized in the High Seas Driftnet Fisheries Moratorium Protection Act, and asked it to be more aggressive.
The Southern Shrimp Alliance said it also urges NOAA to ban the snapper imports. Illegal fishing by small Mexican boats "undermines the catch restrictions for red snapper imposed on American fishermen," the group wrote. "Moreover, the health of the red snapper stock has been used as a consideration to justify restrictions on the overall effort of the Gulf commercial shrimp industry as a means for limiting bycatch."