New Act Authorizes Asset Freezes and Travel Bans to Combat Illegal Fishing and Wildlife Trade

The Protecting Global Fisheries Act of 2025 is basically the U.S. government’s new, heavy-duty crowbar aimed at stopping illegal, unreported, or unregulated (IUU) fishing and the trade of endangered species globally. This bill doesn't mess around; it makes the fight against IUU fishing a top-tier U.S. foreign policy priority and gives the President serious sanction powers to back it up.

The New Global Fishing Rules: What's Changing

This Act sets up a clear structure for enforcement. First, it defines terms like “illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing” by pointing to existing maritime law (Sec. 2). Crucially, it mandates that the Secretary of State must prioritize working with allies and international bodies to use the latest technology to enforce maritime agreements (Sec. 3). For those who care about global competition, the bill explicitly directs the U.S. to hold accountable actors causing or helping IUU fishing, with a specific focus on “damaging activities coming from the People’s Republic of China” (Sec. 3).

Hitting Illegal Actors Where It Hurts: Sanctions

The biggest change here is the new sanctioning authority granted to the President (Sec. 4). If a foreign person or vessel is determined to be involved in IUU fishing or illegal endangered species trade, they can be targeted. The penalties are harsh: the President can freeze any of their assets located in the U.S., deny them entry and cancel their visas, and block their vessels from accessing U.S. ports. This power extends beyond the immediate perpetrators to include leaders of organizations and anyone who provides “financial, material, or technological support” to these illegal activities (Sec. 4).

Think of a massive, state-subsidized fishing trawler operating illegally in international waters. Under this Act, not only can the captain and the vessel be sanctioned, but also the CEO of the company that owns the trawler, and potentially the bank that financed the operation or the tech company that supplied the specialized navigation gear—if they knew what was going on. For financial institutions, this means new layers of due diligence to avoid inadvertently dealing with sanctioned entities.

The Fine Print: Waivers and Oversight

While the sanctions are broad, the bill includes standard safety valves. The President can choose to waive sanctions if it’s deemed to be in the “national interest” of the U.S. (Sec. 4). This “national interest” clause is a bit of a gray area—it gives the White House necessary flexibility for diplomacy, but it also means that powerful actors might still slip the hook if geopolitical priorities outweigh enforcement. The Act does, however, require the President to report annually to Congress on all sanctions imposed, and the Secretary of State must brief Congress on global counter-IUU fishing efforts, including a detailed analysis of China's fishing patterns (Sec. 5). This mandatory reporting ensures Congress keeps a close eye on how the new powers are being used, which is a win for accountability.