U.S. Senator Katie Britt, R-Alabama, signed onto a letter sent to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick last Thursday, urging Lutnick to help address illegal Chinese fishing vessels.

The letter, signed by Britt and U.S. Senator Rick Scott, R-Florida, alleged that fishers from China—the largest exporter of seafood to the U.S.—are engaging in illegal, unreported and unregulated, IUU, fishing at the cost of the U.S. seafood industry.

The letter cites a 2021 report from the United States International Trade Commission, which found that nearly 11 percent of U.S. seafood imports in 2019 were derived from IUU fishing.

It also cited a 2017 study from non-profit Global Financial Integrity that reports that IUU fishing generates an estimated global profit of $15.5 to $36.4 billion

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