United States Sens. Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt applauded critical red snapper legislation moving through the Senate Commerce Committee Wednesday.
The legislation would require the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to develop methodology for identifying the origin of imported red snapper.
Technology exists to chemically test other foods, including beef, to find their geographic origins, but not for red snapper, said the Alabama Republicans. The legislation sponsored by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, would create a field test kit for the U.S. Coast Guard to use, allowing illegally obtained snapper to be confiscated before entering the country.
“Red snapper is a core component of coastal Alabama’s economy, and I’m proud to fight to protect our hardworking fishermen and food producers,” Britt said in a written statement. “This bill would combat malicious, illegal activity by cartel-backed poachers who are endangering the livelihoods of law-abiding Americans and encroaching on our territorial sovereignty.”
According to the release, about 100,000 red snapper are harvested off the coast of Alabama, which is one-third of the recreational harvest in the Gulf of Mexico. Recreational and commercial fishing supports over 1,200 Alabama jobs and contributes more than $1.1 billion to the state’s economy.
In 2021, National Public Radio reported that U.S. Coast Guard commanders, commercial fishermen, marine biologists and federal officials agreed that large-scale, illegal harvesting of red snapper is doing great harm to the Gulf of Mexico. Gill nets and trotlines that can be 3 miles long attached to floating buoys were regularly found in the gulf, NPR reported. Both are illegal in this part of the Gulf because they kill marine life indiscriminately.
If passed, this legislation would prevent illegally caught red snapper from Mexico from entering the United States. The release also alleges the same people who fish illegally are engaged in drug smuggling and human trafficking and the sales of the fish support smuggling and trafficking.
According to Tuberville’s office, snapper poaching continues to be an issue in the Gulf of Mexico.
“Unfortunately, our domestic Red Snapper industry is being undermined by Mexican fishermen who are illegally catching these fish in the Gulf, smuggling them into Mexico, and then reselling the same fish back to Americans,” Tubberville said. “In addition to taking business away from Alabamian fishermen, many of the profits from these illegal fishing operations are funding the cartels.”
The legislation now goes to the full Senate for consideration.