The House Foreign Affairs Committee advanced legislation Wednesday that would authorize aggressive measures to deter Chinese fishing vessels from illegally harvesting seafood from other countries’ territorial waters.
The full committee approved H.R. 6338, the “Stop Illegal Fishing Act,” in a 47-2 vote.
Foreign Affairs Chair Brian Mast (R-Fla.) offered a strong endorsement of the bill during the panel’s markup of the legislation, likening China’s illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing to “a middle finger from the Chinese Communist Party to neighboring and coastal countries.”
The legislation is sponsored by Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), the ranking member of the full committee, and Rep. Young Kim (R-Calif.), chair of the East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee.
