Pelagic fish live in the open waters of our seas and oceans. Many species migrate great distances each year. However, most shark, swordfish and tuna populations are approaching, or have already reached, unsustainable levels. Much of this decline has been attributed to the advent of longline fishing. Perfected by the Japanese, this method uses up to 80 miles of fishing lines with thousands of baited hooks that are trailed behind a single vessel. During the first decade of the advent of longline fishing, catches declined from 10 fish per hundred hooks to just one per hundred. Studies have concluded that at least 80% of each of the world’s large ocean species including cod, halibut, tuna, swordfish and marlin has disappeared from the world’s oceans since 1950.

Research has found that commercial fishing has become so efficient that it typically takes just 15-20 years to remove 80% or more of any species unlucky enough to be targeted. Tuna populations have taken the brunt of commercial overfishing. The Atlantic bluefin tuna population has decreased about 40% over the past 25 years. One study of Pacific bluefin tuna, long thought to have healthy population numbers, has now been estimated to have declined more than 95% due to overfishing. It appears that for many years, the Japanese fishing industry has been greatly underreporting its Pacific bluefin tuna catch, thus enabling it continue catching these fish that are so popular in sushi and sashimi restaurants. Recently, one 650-pound tuna was sold for $3 million in a Japanese fish market. However, most tuna that are now caught are juveniles not old enough to breed.

Pending Legislation: House version of S.283 - Illegal Red Snapper and Tuna Enforcement Act (passed Senate 7/12/2025)
Sponsor: Sen. Ted Cruz (TX)
Status: Received in the House, held at the desk
House Speaker: Speaker Mike Johnson (AL)

• I oppose reforming current longline fishing policy and wish to donate resources to the campaign committee of Speaker Mike Johnson (AL).
• I support helping enforcement against IUU fishing by developing a standard methodology to identify the country of origin for seafood. This would also likely increase scrutiny of longline-caught fish from certain regions by:
  
  1.) Directing the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to create a new, scientifically based method for identifying the country of origin of seafood.
  
  2.) Developing this methodology into a portable field kit that law enforcement, such as the U.S. Coast Guard, can use to quickly test seafood at the point of inspection.
  
  3.) Combating IUU fishing and criminal activity by disrupting the financial flow to criminal organizations, including cartels, that use illegal fishing profits to fund other illicit activities like drug and human trafficking.
  
  4.) Specifically requiring pilot studies on red snapper (a stationary stock) and tuna (a highly migratory stock) to test the new methodology.
  
  5.) Requiring the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology to report to Congress within two years on the methodology, the plan for its implementation, and any challenges encountered.
  
  And wish to donate resources to the campaign committee of Speaker Mike Johnson (AL) and/or to an advocate group currently working with this issue.