Press Releases

Finding Nemo’s Future: Conflicts over Ocean Resources

June 4, 2025

Coast Guard Subcommittee Chairman Sullivan Announces Subcommittee Hearing on June 12th 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation’s Subcommittee on Coast Guard, Maritime, and Fisheries, will convene a hearing titled “Finding Nemo’s Future: Conflicts over Ocean Resources” on Thursday, June 12, 2025, at 10:00 am EST. This hearing will examine U.S. efforts to counter illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and explore opportunities to strengthen enforcement, coordination, and technological innovation. The hearing will evaluate existing legislative authorities and international agreements and examine policy options to advance maritime domain awareness and promote responsible ocean governance in the face of rising IUU activity.

IUU fishing is a global problem that threatens ocean ecosystems and sustainable fisheries because it bypasses laws, depletes fish stocks through overfishing, damages marine habitats, and undermines efforts to manage resources responsibly. IUU fishing also threatens economic security and places law-abiding fishermen and seafood producers in the United States and abroad at a competitive disadvantage by enabling illegal operators to evade regulations, use forced labor, and flood the market with untraceable, unregulated, and unverified seafood.

Upon announcing this hearing, Sen. Sullivan said:

“Foreign illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing from Russia and China ignore basic seafood harvest rules and best practices, and ravage fish stocks without regard for any other users or future generations. IUU gray fleets, which literally utilize slave labor in many cases, are a cancer on fisheries throughout the world and undercut Alaskan and American fishermen, who fish sustainably. We cannot allow rogue fleets backed by authoritarian regimes to continue plundering our oceans and undermine international law, particularly as Russia and China use their fishing fleets to project power in the Indo-Pacific and, increasingly, around the world. I’ve worked with my colleagues on the Commerce Committee to combat this issue in the past, and this hearing is a next step to hear directly from our fishermen and coastal communities and protect their livelihoods, our oceans, and U.S. national security.”

Sen. Cruz said:

“Criminals are poaching red snapper out of Texas waters, undercutting our fishermen and threatening coastal economies. Cracking down on illegal fishing operations and enforcing maritime law helps safeguard our borders from cartels and other criminal entities which use profits from illegal fishing to fund drug and human smuggling. This hearing will help my colleagues and I better understand ways Congress can support the work of the Trump administration and our allies to hold these criminal entities accountable, protect American consumers, and strengthen our seafood industry.”

Witnesses:

  • Mr. Gregory Poling, Director and Senior Fellow, Southeast Asia Program and Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, Center for Strategic & International Studies
  • Mr. Nathan Rickard, Partner, Picard Kentz & Rowe
  • Mr. Gabriel Prout, President, Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers

Additional witness may be announced at a later date.

Details:

WHAT: Subcommittee on Coast Guard, Maritime, and Fisheries hearing titled “Finding Nemo’s Future: Conflicts over Ocean Resources”

DATE: Thursday, June 12, 2025

TIME: 10:00 A.M. EST

LOCATION: Committee Hearing Room, Russell 253

LIVESTREAM: The hearing will stream live on the Committee web site or YouTube.

MEDIA INFO: Reporters wanting to attend the committee please contact your respective media gallery to RSVP.

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