# 119-s-688: Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvests Act of 2025

119-s-688, Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvests Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Sullivan, Dan [R-AK] (R-AK); status passed_senate; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-10).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-688
- As of: 2026-09-10
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-688
- Congress: 119
- Title: Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvests Act of 2025
- Status: passed_senate
- Introduced: 2025-02-24
- Sponsor: Sen. Sullivan, Dan [R-AK] (R-AK)
- Cosponsors: 9
- Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-10

## Summary

**Creates a public IUU vessel list to target illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and its links to forced labor.** It pairs that list with visa bans, stepped-up Coast Guard boardings, data sharing, and help for partner nations. - Vessel owners: Foreign owners and beneficial owners listed on the IUU vessel list are inadmissible to the United States, can have visas revoked, and are ineligible for new visas or entry. - Enforcement and agencies: NOAA must publish and maintain the list with 90-day notice, hearings, and annual Federal Register publication and is authorized $10 million per year for FY2025–2030 to run the listing program. The Coast Guard must increase boardings year over year and the U.S. will step up engagement with regional fisheries management organizations. - Seafood supply chains and partners: The law requires a published strategy to identify seafood harvested with forced labor and encourages capacity building, technical assistance, and investment in partner nations. It also extends the National Sea Grant authorization through FY2025–2031. *Authorizes $10 million per year for FY2025–2030 to operate the IUU listing program and extends Sea Grant authorization through FY2025–2031, which increases federal spending.*

## Cosponsors (9)

- Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] (D-RI), 2025-02-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK] (R-AK), 2025-03-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS] (R-MS), 2025-04-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Graham, Lindsey [R-SC] (R-SC), 2025-05-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR), 2025-05-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Blunt Rochester, Lisa [D-DE] (D-DE), 2025-06-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE] (D-DE), 2025-06-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Kennedy, John [R-LA] (R-LA), 2025-07-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hyde-Smith, Cindy [R-MS] (R-MS), 2025-12-01T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- More Coast Guard checks on high seas: benefit, medium. If enacted, the Coast Guard would aim to increase year‑over‑year checks and, when possible, board vessels suspected of illegal fishing on the high seas. NOAA would work with the Coast Guard and State to coordinate with regional fishery groups on what flag states do after boardings. Within 3 years,…
- Plan to target illegal and forced‑labor fishing: benefit, medium. If enacted, the Interagency Working Group would be required to craft enforcement strategies against illegal fishing and fishing that uses forced labor, focusing on nations already flagged under existing law. The group would use tools like the Trafficking in Persons Report and CBP’s Forced Labor Div…
- Public list of illegal fishing boats: benefit, medium. If enacted, Commerce (through NOAA) would publish a public list of foreign fishing boats, fleets, and their beneficial owners tied to illegal fishing. Owners would get notice and 90 days to respond before listing, and a hearing process to seek removal. The rules for adding and removing entries woul…
- Study of illegal fishing’s U.S. costs: benefit, medium. If enacted, NOAA would ask the National Academies to study how common illegal and forced‑labor fishing is across flag states and what it costs the U.S. economy. The study would guide future policy and enforcement choices.
- More U.S. help for foreign fisheries: benefit, low. If enacted, State and Commerce would be encouraged to expand technical help, capacity building, and investment for foreign fisheries to fight illegal and forced‑labor fishing. The focus would be on priority regions and flag states named in existing law. This encouragement does not require spending.
- Plan to spot forced‑labor seafood: benefit, low. If enacted, Commerce would create and post a plan that uses U.S. government data to find seafood caught with forced labor on foreign vessels. The plan would be published on a public website so buyers and businesses can see how the government flags risky products.
- Sea Grant funding window extended: benefit, low. If enacted, Congress would authorize the National Sea Grant College Program for each year from fiscal year 2025 through 2031 instead of a single year. This extends authorization but does not itself spend money.

## Related bills

- 119-s-2296: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
- 119-s-4784: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027
- 119-s-1241: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025
- 119-s-339: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act
- 119-sres-755: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable Donald W. Riegle, Jr., former Senator for the State of Michigan.
- 119-sres-739: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of John Seymour, the late Senator for the State of California.

## Sources
- [119-s-688 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/688)

## Related
- [119-s-2296: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2296)
- [119-s-4784: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4784)
- [119-s-1241: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1241)
- [119-s-339: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage A…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-339)
- [119-sres-755: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable Donald W. Riegle, Jr., former S…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-755)
- [119-sres-739: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of John Seymour, the late Senator for…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-739)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-688 (as of 2026-09-10).