U.S. shrimpers have long argued that an unchecked glut of illegal shrimp dumped in the United States by foreign fishermen has brought the industry to the economic brink.
Legislation introduced last week by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) would elevate those concerns to “fishery disaster” status, meaning shrimpers and other fishermen could receive millions of dollars in federal assistance to combat what Mace called “foreign interference in U.S. fishery markets.”
“Our domestic fisheries are under assault, not only from illegal and subsidized foreign competition but also from bureaucratic red tape failing to protect American industries,” Mace said in recent press release. “The Protect American Fisheries Act takes a stand against these harmful practices and the inefficiencies in our [regulatory] system allowing them to persist.”
H.R.10010 would amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to expand NOAA’s disaster assistance program to cover illegal actions of foreign vessels and seafood companies, financial institutions and foreign governments when making decisions on what constitutes a fisheries disaster.
