With over 12,000 employees and an annual statewide impact of $1.1 billion, Alabama’s fishing industry is vital to the state’s economic standing.
However, those achievements are under threat from outside sources that could severely damage one of Alabama’s key industries.
According to U.S. Senators Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt, cartels in Mexico have been funding and backing fishermen who are catching American red snapper, smuggling the fish back into Mexico, and then reselling it to American consumers for often a cheaper price than fish caught by American anglers.
To halt the encroachment on the fishing industry, both lawmakers have helped to reintroduce the Illegal Red Snapper and Tuna Enforcement Act to ensure that only American caught fish are available for consumers.
The legislation would allow a field test kit to be used to accurately ascertain whether fish were caught in U.S. or foreign waters, giving federal and state law enforcement officers the ability to identify the origin of the fish and confiscate illegally caught red snapper and tuna before it is imported back into the U.S.
On Monday, the bill advanced out of the Senate Commerce Committee.
“Senate Republicans are committed to putting America first, which requires legislation that protects hardworking Americans, including our tremendous Gulf of America red snapper fishermen and food producers in Alabama,” said Britt. “These Alabamians deserve fairness when fishing and selling their products in the market.”
“Advancing the Illegal Red Snapper and Tuna Enforcement Act is a first step to protecting Alabama’s fishermen and putting cartel-backed poachers on notice for their illicit activities in the Gulf. This legislation will help ensure a level playing field for our fishermen and send a strong message to Mexico that illegal actions will no longer be tolerated.”
Tuberville echoed Britt’s sentiments on the importance of protecting Alabama’s fishing industry.
“Alabama lands 34 percent of all recreationally caught Red Snapper in the Gulf,” Tuberville (R-Auburn) said.
“Unfortunately, our domestic Red Snapper industry is being undermined by Mexican fishermen who are illegally catching American snapper in the Gulf, smuggling them into Mexico, and then reselling the same fish back to American consumers. In addition to taking business away from Alabama’s fishermen, many of the profits from these illegal fishing operations are funding the cartels. I’m proud to join Senator Cruz in introducing the Illegal Red Snapper and Tuna Enforcement Act to stop illegal Red Snapper from flooding our markets and bankrupting our great fishermen.”
Each year, about 100,000 red snapper are harvested off of Alabama’s coast, accounting for almost a third of the total recreational harvest in the Gulf of America.
Austen Shipley is the News Director for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten
