II 

119TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 283 

To require the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology 

and the Administrator of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to develop a standard methodology for identifying the country of 

origin of seafood to support enforcement against illegal, unreported, 

and unregulated fishing, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 28, 2025 

Mr. CRUZ (for himself, Mr. SCHATZ, Mrs. BRITT, and Mr. TUBERVILLE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To require the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards 

and Technology and the Administrator of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to develop a standard methodology for identifying the country of origin 

of seafood to support enforcement against illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Illegal Red Snapper 

5 and Tuna Enforcement Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. METHODOLOGY FOR IDENTIFYING THE COUNTRY 

2 OF ORIGIN OF SEAFOOD. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis5 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 

6 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

7 (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON8 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con9 gress’’ means— 

10 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

11 and Transportation of the Senate; and 

12 (B) the Committee on Transportation and 

13 Infrastructure and the Committee on Natural 

14 Resources of the House of Representatives. 

15 (3) KEY AGENCY LEADERSHIP.—The term ‘‘key 

16 agency leadership’’ means the Administrator and the 

17 Under Secretary in consultation with the Commis18 sioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and 

19 the Commandant of the Coast Guard. 

20 (4) RED SNAPPER.—The term ‘‘red snapper’’ 

21 means the species Lutjanus campechanus. 

22 (5) TUNA.—The term ‘‘tuna’’ means the fol23 lowing species of tuna: 

24 (A) Bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus). 

25 (B) Yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares). 

26 (C) Bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus). 


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1 (6) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Under 

2 Secretary’’ means the Under Secretary of Commerce 

3 for Standards and Technology and the Director of 

4 the National Institute of Standards and Technology. 

5 (b) STANDARD METHODOLOGY FOR IDENTIFICA6 TION.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Key agency leadership shall, 

8 in accordance with this section, jointly develop a 

9 standard methodology, based on chemical analysis, 

10 for identifying the country of origin of seafood to 

11 support enforcement against illegal, unreported, and 

12 unregulated fishing. 

13 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—Key agency leadership 

14 shall ensure that the methodology developed under 

15 this subsection— 

16 (A) is consistent with the needs of Federal 

17 and State law enforcement agencies in com18 bating illegal, unreported, and unregulated fish19 ing; 

20 (B) minimizes processing time; 

21 (C) involves the use of a field kit that can 

22 be easily carried by one individual; and 

23 (D) to the extent practicable, can be used 

24 to test prepared food, including raw preparaVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Feb 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S283.IS S283

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1 tions of seafood such as ceviche, sashimi, sushi, 

2 and poke. 

3 (3) INITIAL SPECIES FOR IDENTIFICATION.—In 

4 developing the methodology under this subsection, 

5 key agency leadership shall conduct pilot studies on 

6 red snapper, as an example of a stationary stock, 

7 and tuna, as an example of a highly migratory stock. 

8 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

9 of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary shall 

10 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 

11 that includes the following: 

12 (1) A summary of the methodology developed 

13 under subsection (b). 

14 (2) A plan for operationalizing the methodology 

15 developed under subsection (b). 

16 (3) In the event that any aspect of the method17 ology developed under subsection (b) is impracti18 cable, an explanation of why, whether additional re19 search would make developing such a methodology 

20 practicable, and whether a different approach other 

21 than chemical analysis might be practicable. 

22 SEC. 3. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR IUU FISHING EN23 FORCEMENT. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense is au25 thorized to, in coordination with the United States Coast 


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1 Guard, expend funds appropriated for the Department of 

2 Defense for operation and maintenance to provide mari3 time technical assistance to maritime forces from other 

4 nations in efforts to combat illegal, unreported, or unregu5 lated fishing (commonly known as ‘‘IUU fishing’’) and 

6 other transnational organized crime. Such technical assist7 ance may include providing observers, shipriders, and spe8 cialized personnel to deploy with such maritime forces, in 

9 addition to remote sensing, analysis of data, and oper10 ational intelligence, as appropriate and consistent with 

11 United States law and policy. 

12 (b) APPLICATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority 

13 provided under subsection (a) shall apply to the use of 

14 the United States Coast Guard members deployed to and 

15 operating aboard Department of Defense, partner nation, 

16 or international partner platforms, as well as partner na17 tion personnel operating aboard United States military 

18 and Coast Guard assets or international partner vessels, 

19 as appropriate. 

Æ 


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