March 6, 2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the Coast Guard continues to interdict cartel-backed fish poachers in federal waters, U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), and Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) took action this week to target illegally caught red snapper imports. The Illegal Red Snapper Enforcement Act would require the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to develop a standard methodology for identifying the country of origin of red snapper imported into the United States.
Technology exists to chemically test and find the geographic origin of many foods, but not for red snapper. The legislation would develop a field test kit the Coast Guard could use to accurately ascertain whether fish were caught in Mexico or U.S. waters, thus allowing federal and state law enforcement officers to identify the origin of the fish and confiscate illegally caught red snapper before it is imported back into the U.S.
