III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 92 

Expressing concern that illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing threatens 

security, prosperity, and biodiversity in Latin America and the Caribbean 

and facilitates human trafficking, including forced labor, and other inhumane and criminal practices in the region. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 2, 2023 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. RISCH, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. RUBIO, and Mr. 

KAINE) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing concern that illegal, unregulated, and unreported 

fishing threatens security, prosperity, and biodiversity 

in Latin America and the Caribbean and facilitates 

human trafficking, including forced labor, and other inhumane and criminal practices in the region. 

Whereas illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (referred 

to in this preamble as ‘‘IUU fishing’’), which are defined 

in paragraphs 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3 of the 2001 Food and 

Agriculture Organization International Plan of Action to 

Prevent, Deter, and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported, and 

Unregulated Fishing, includes fishing activities that— 

(1) are in violation of applicable national, regional, 

or international laws, regulations, or obligations; 


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(2) are not reported or misreported to relevant authorities; and 

(3) occur in areas or for fishing stocks for which 

there are no applicable conservation or management 

measures; 

Whereas in 2020, the United States Coast Guard declared 

that IUU fishing has replaced piracy as the leading global maritime security threat; 

Whereas the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has 

expressed serious concerns about the fishing industry’s 

vulnerability to several forms of transnational organized 

crime, including trafficking in persons, money laundering, 

and smuggling of drugs and weapons, which are often 

linked to IUU fishing; 

Whereas, according to the International Labor Organization’s 

2022 Global Estimates of Modern Slavery, approximately 

128,000 fishers are subjected to forced labor aboard fishing vessels around the world in conditions characterized 

by extreme isolation, hazardous working and living conditions, and gaps in regulatory oversight, and IUU fishing 

is closely linked to these and other forms of human trafficking; 

Whereas IUU fishing threatens biodiversity and marine ecosystems, increases the risk of food insecurity, and creates 

unfair competition in the marketplace for lawful seafood 

industries; 

Whereas approximately 600,000,000 people worldwide are 

partially dependent on fisheries and aquaculture for their 

lives and livelihoods, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports that IUU fishing deVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Mar 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR92.IS SR92

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prives law-abiding fishermen and coastal communities of 

up to $23,000,000,000 in seafood products annually; 

Whereas, according to the United States Government’s Global Food Security Strategy, the percentage of stocks 

fished at biologically unsustainable levels increased from 

10 percent in 1974 to 34.2 percent in 2017, with IUU 

fishing being a key factor affecting the sustainability of 

fisheries; 

Whereas, according to a 2017 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations— 

(1) IUU fishing off of South America’s Southeast 

Pacific coast and Southwest Atlantic Oceans contributes 

to the second highest proportions of biologically 

unsustainable fishing stock levels in the world; and 

(2) transformative changes are needed to address 

growing threats to sustainable fisheries and food security 

globally; 

Whereas large-scale operations of distant-water fishing fleets, 

particularly such fleets that are provided with billions of 

dollars in subsidies annually by the People’s Republic of 

China, are primarily responsible for IUU fishing along 

the Pacific Coast of South America and the Southwest 

Atlantic Ocean, while small-scale artisanal fleets are primarily responsible for IUU fishing in the Caribbean, 

Mexico, and Central America; 

Whereas Chinese industrial fishing in the South Pacific coast 

of South America increased 13-fold between 2009 and 

2020, contributing to a significant rise in IUU fishing in 

that region; 

Whereas, between July and August 2020, 350 Chinese distant-water fishing vessels disabled required tracking sysVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Mar 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR92.IS SR92

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tems and engaged in 73,000 hours of fishing off the exclusive economic zone of the Galapagos archipelago, 

which is a United Nations World Heritage Site; 

Whereas, in November 2020, the Governments of Ecuador, of 

Chile, of Colombia, and of Peru— 

(1) jointly condemned IUU fishing perpetrated by 

large fleets of foreign vessels; and 

(2) pledged to increase cooperation through regulatory bodies, such as the Permanent Commission for the 

South Pacific; 

Whereas the United States, Canada, and 12 countries in 

Latin America and the Caribbean are parties to the 

Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter, 

and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, Agreement, done at Rome November 22, 2009 (commonly known as the ‘‘Port State Measures Agreement’’), 

which was facilitated by the United Nations Food and 

Agriculture Organization and entered into force in June 

2016, setting standards for the reporting and inspection 

of fishing activities of foreign-flagged vessels at port; 

Whereas governments in Latin America and the Caribbean 

often lack the capacity to effectively monitor and prosecute IUU fishing, with many countries in the region investing less than 10 percent of their fisheries budgets on 

monitoring and surveillance; 

Whereas regional fisheries management organizations, such 

as the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization and the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism, establish conservation and management standards, 

but face difficulties in enforcing such standards and executing coordinated action to counter IUU fishing; 


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Whereas Uruguay is seeking to advance the creation of a regional fisheries management organization with Brazil and 

Argentina to combat IUU fishing in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean, which is the only sea area in the world without 

a fisheries management government structure; 

Whereas the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, 

which was approved by Congress under section 101(a)(1) 

of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 4511(a))— 

(1) prohibits subsidies for vessels or operators involved in IUU fishing; 

(2) requires customs inspections for shipments at 

ports of entry; 

(3) prohibits the importation of goods made by 

forced labor; and 

(4) requires efforts to seek the elimination of forced 

labor; 

Whereas similar provisions related to IUU fishing have not 

been enshrined in other free trade agreements in North 

America; 

Whereas, at the 12th Ministerial Conference of the World 

Trade Organization in June 2022, member states 

reached a multilateral agreement to prohibit certain 

harmful subsidies for fishing activities that threaten the 

sustainable use and conservation of marine resources, including subsidies to vessels engaged in IUU fishing; 

Whereas, the Maritime SAFE Act (subtitle C of title XXXV 

of Public Law 116–92) established an interagency working group to develop a 5-year strategic plan to counter 

IUU fishing, which was released in October 2022, and 

has identified— 


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(1) Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, and Peru 

as Tier I priority regions at risk for IUU fishing; and 

(2) the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean as 

Tier II priority regions at risk for IUU fishing; and 

Whereas the United States Government has undertaken several initiatives to counter IUU fishing in Latin America 

and the Caribbean, including— 

(1) conducting joint cooperation exercises in January 2021 involving the United States Southern Command, the United States Coast Guard, and partners in 

Brazil, Guyana, Portugal, and Uruguay; 

(2) certifying countries based on their actions to 

curb the flow of IUU fishing through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including issuing a 

negative certification in August 2021 for Mexico and a 

positive certification for Ecuador; 

(3) issuing National Security Memorandum 11 on 

June 27, 2022, which directs Federal executive departments and agencies to coordinate with each other, foreign 

governments, multilateral organizations, and other public 

and private stakeholders to combat labor abuses and 

other crimes associated with IUU fishing; 

(4) carrying out the first United States Coast Guard 

IUU fishing patrol under the auspices of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization, in 

August 2022 off the exclusive economic zone of the 

Gala ́pagos archipelago, during which the Coast Guard 

conducted high seas boardings and inspections of vessels 

suspected of engaging in IUU fishing; 

(5) issuing sanctions on December 9, 2022, against 

entities based in the People’s Republic of China that are 

implicated in global activities related to IUU fishing, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Mar 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR92.IS SR92

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cluding activities in Latin America and the Caribbean; 

and 

(6) proposing that Chinese flagged vessels suspected 

of engaging in IUU fishing that refuse to allow on sea 

boarding and inspection be included in the South Pacific 

Regional Fisheries Management organization’s IUU vessel list: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) underscores the urgency of combating IUU 

3 fishing and its associated crimes, including human 

4 trafficking, and protecting oceanic biodiversity, the 

5 livelihoods of coastal communities, regional licit 

6 economies, human rights, and hemispheric security 

7 from the People’s Republic of China, other extra-re8 gional actors, and transnational criminal organiza9 tions engaged in IUU fishing in Latin America and 

10 the Caribbean; 

11 (2) calls on the United States Government and 

12 governments in Latin America and the Caribbean to 

13 incorporate concerns regarding human trafficking 

14 and violations of labor rights, when determining 

15 whether activities qualify as IUU fishing; 

16 (3) encourages greater coordination among the 

17 Governments of Latin America and of the Caribbean 

18 to facilitate information sharing and law enforce19 ment responses to IUU fishing, including by acced20 ing to the Port State Measures Agreement, strengthVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Mar 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR92.IS SR92

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1 ening existing regional fisheries management organi2 zations, and creating a regional fisheries manage3 ment organization for the Southwest Atlantic Ocean; 

4 (4) encourages the Office of the United States 

5 Trade Representative, in coordination with the De6 partment of State, to consider the implementation of 

7 IUU fishing provisions within current and future 

8 free trade agreements with countries of Latin Amer9 ica and the Caribbean to enhance accountability over 

10 such activities; and 

11 (5) calls on the Secretary of State, in coordina12 tion with the Administrator of the United States 

13 Agency for International Development and the heads 

14 of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, 

15 to counter IUU fishing by— 

16 (A) undertaking public education initia17 tives in Latin America and the Caribbean to 

18 elevate awareness of the harms caused by IUU 

19 fishing and its associated crimes; 

20 (B) assisting with the monitoring and dis21 semination of information regarding the activi22 ties of Chinese and other distant-water fishing 

23 fleets, and using multilateral fora, including re24 gional fisheries management organizations, to 

25 address such concerns; 


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1 (C) limiting the importation and consump2 tion of fish and seafood caught by IUU actors, 

3 and use the United States role and influence in 

4 global markets to drive change in global seafood 

5 supply chains; 

6 (D) using sanctions and visa restriction 

7 authorities to hold accountable entities that are 

8 credibly suspected of engaging in IUU fishing, 

9 including— 

10 (i) distant water fishing fleets from 

11 the People’s Republic of China; 

12 (ii) other extra-regional actors; and 

13 (iii) transnational criminal organiza14 tions; and 

15 (E) utilizing available resources to support 

16 and assist the Office of the United States 

17 Trade Representative in reaching a final multi18 lateral agreement under the World Trade Orga19 nization that— 

20 (i) addresses the use of forced labor 

21 on IUU fishing vessels; 

22 (ii) strengthens relevant reporting re23 quirements; and 


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1 (iii) addresses harmful subsidies that 

2 contribute to fishing fleet overcapacity. 

Æ 


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