From a press release Monday (Feb. 11):

Today, Senators Rockefeller, (D-WV) and Murkowski,  (R-AK)  introduced two bills (the Pirate Fishing Elimination Act and the  International Fisheries Stewardship and Enforcement Act) aimed at combatting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, also known as  IUU fishing,  or ‘pirate fishing’. The bills are cosponsored by Senators Begich, Schatz, Cantwell, Whitehouse, Wyden,  Merkley,  Hirono, and Nelson.

IUU fishing occurs all over the world, including in remote US waters in the western and central Pacific, when foreign fleets:  fish inside another country’s waters without permission or report catching much less fish than they really do; fish in international waters in places, at times, or with fishing gear that is prohibited by regional fishery management bodies;  or commit various other fishing-related violations.  …

Photo courtesy Emrys.Roberts.

—Chad Blair