Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Today, Representative Mary Sattler Peltola (AK-AL) called on the Biden Administration and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to do more after an announcement of U.S. port entry denial to fishing vessels from China, Russia and 12 other nations. NOAA Fisheries identified these nations in a 2021 Report to Congress on Improving International Fisheries Management. They issued negative certifications to them in the 2023 Report to Congress on Improving International Fisheries Management, but today’s announcement did not ban imports of foreign-caught fish. 

“I have worked tirelessly to educate our government on the threat that foreign fishing practices pose to our fisheries – that’s why I pushed the administration to issue an executive order banning Russian caught fish last year,” said Rep. Peltola. “This is a step towards protecting our North Pacific Ocean and ensuring the well-being of Alaskan fishing families, but more must be done.”

The port denials announced today follow a Peltola-backed Executive Order that empowered the United States to combat predatory and unsustainable foreign fisheries practices, specifically from Russia. 

As of today, vessels from Algeria, Barbados, Côte d’Ivoire, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Mexico, Namibia, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Russian Federation, Senegal, Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, and Türkiye will be denied. 

View more information on the NOAA announcement, here.

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