Senators urge NOAA to prevent illegally harvested red snapper from being sold in American markets.
Ten Senators from Gulf Coast states released a letter today expressing concern over continued illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing for red snapper by Mexican vessels operating in U.S. waters of the Gulf of America. They called on NOAA to use its import-restriction authority – and other applicable authorities – to address the problem in a targeted manner.
Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) joined Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) in authoring the letter.
“We are truly grateful to these Senators for their call to action to address this pervasive problem,” said Bill Bird, chairman of CCA’s National Government Relations Committee. “The U.S. Coast Guard and Texas state agencies are doing incredible work to curtail these illegal activities, but there is only so much that can be done on the enforcement side. Combining those enforcement efforts with import restrictions and enhanced reporting requirement could finally have a significant impact on these illegal operations. CCA has been calling for more assertiveness from NOAA on this issue for years and it is gratifying to see it getting the attention it deserves.”
Globally, IUU fishing accounts for the removal of one out of every five fish from the oceans, often conducted and supported by illicit organizations. In the United States, much of this activity is carried out by illegal fishing vessels from Mexico, known as lanchas, trespassing into U.S. waters off the coast of Texas. While the landings are immense, the full extent is unknown. At one time it was estimated that the illegal take of red snapper out of U.S. waters was at least equal to the entire recreational quota of red snapper which equates to several million pounds annually.
“Despite fewer vessel interdictions in 2025 than the previous year, the volume of illegally harvested red snapper seized by the Coast Guard rose 28 percent, reaching 15,859 pounds . . . Furthermore, a recent DHS Office of Inspector General report found that the Coast Guard interdicts only one in every five detected foreign fishing vessels, leaving nearly 80 percent of illegal incursions unchallenged and free to enter domestic commerce through opaque supply chains,” the lawmakers explained in the letter.
Lanchas typically participate in illegal fishing during the day, and drug and migrant smuggling operations at night. These are fast-moving boats, typically 25- to 35-foot wooden or fiberglass vessels with a single engine and two to four crew members. A large portion of the illegal catch – usually high-value red snapper, but also sharks, red drum and anything else that can be caught on a longline – is transported north of the border to be sold on the U.S. market.
NOAA can enact an import prohibition when foreign fishing activities undermine conservation and enforcement efforts but to date, that authority has never been exercised.
“We respectfully urge NOAA Fisheries to evaluate—without further delay—the use of its existing statutory authority in coordination with relevant agency partners to eliminate illegal fishing in U.S. waters and prevent IUU-caught fish from entering U.S. markets,” the Senators’ letter concludes.
