The Port State Measures Agreement and three regional fishing management organization agreements will help combat illegal fishing and improve the management of fisheries in international waters, to the benefit of U.S. fishermen, our seafood industry, and U.S. security interests. The ocean is vast. From the land it is hard to contemplate its limits or how illegal fishing in distant waters might impact the United States. But like dropping a pebble in a pond, the ripple effects of illegal fishing expand to all shores. The impact of illegal fishing has already reached Cape Cod and the ports of New England, where commercial fishing has been the lifeblood of communities for centuries. Our small boat fishermen have always supplemented their cod catches with a variety of fish. Bluefin tuna and swordfish have been especially important. Landing one can mean the difference between a profitable fishing season or not, between the paying of the mortgage on time or not, between helping with a daughter’s college bills or not. With our cod stocks struggling and facing the ongoing impacts of climate change, revenue from other fish becomes even more important. But there is not enough American tuna or European tuna or African tuna. There is Atlantic tuna, and what happens in the Atlantic beyond any country’s control can impact fishermen in every country.
