§8003. Statement of policy

It is the policy of the United States__¹

(1) to take action to curtail the global trade in seafood and seafood products derived from IUU fishing, including its links to forced labor and transnational organized illegal activity;

(2) to develop holistic diplomatic, military, law enforcement, economic, and capacity-building tools to counter IUU fishing;

(3) to provide technical assistance to countries in priority regions and priority flag states to combat IUU fishing, including assistance-

(A) to increase local, national, and regional level capacities to counter IUU fishing through the engagement of law enforcement and security forces;

(B) to enhance port capacity and security, including by supporting other countries in working toward the adoption and implementation of the Port State Measures Agreement;

(C) to combat corruption and increase transparency and traceability in fisheries management and trade;

(D) to enhance information sharing within and across governments and multilateral organizations through the development and use of agreed standards for information sharing; and

(E) to support effective, science-based fisheries management regimes that promote legal and safe fisheries and act as a deterrent to IUU fishing;

(4) to promote global maritime security through improved capacity and technological assistance to support improved maritime domain awareness;

(5) to engage with priority flag states to encourage the use of high quality vessel tracking technologies where existing enforcement tools are lacking;

(6) to engage with multilateral organizations working on fisheries issues, including Regional Fisheries Management Organizations and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, to combat and deter IUU fishing;

(7) to advance information sharing across governments and multilateral organizations in areas that cross multiple jurisdictions, through the development and use of an agreed standard for information sharing;

(8) to continue to use existing and future trade agreements to combat IUU fishing;

(9) to employ appropriate assets and resources of the United States Government in a coordinated manner to disrupt the illicit networks involved in IUU fishing;

(10) to continue to declassify and make available, as appropriate and practicable, technologies developed by the United States Government that can be used to help counter IUU fishing;

(11) to recognize the ties of IUU fishing to transnational organized illegal activity, including human trafficking and illegal trade in narcotics and arms, and as applicable, to focus on illicit activity in a coordinated, cross-cutting manner;

(12) to recognize and respond to poor working conditions, labor abuses, and other violent crimes in the fishing industry;

(13) to increase and improve global transparency and traceability along the seafood supply chain as-

(A) a deterrent to IUU fishing; and

(B) an approach for strengthening fisheries management and food security; and

(14) to promote technological investment and innovation to combat IUU fishing.

( Pub. L. 116–92, div. C, title XXXV, §3534, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 2000 .)

¹ So in original. Probably should be "States-".