Protecting U.S. Fishers from Illegal Foreign Flags Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 4720 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4720 To amend the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to consider nations with open registries in the Secretary's identification of nations engaging in or endorsing illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 9, 2026 Mr. Merkley (for himself and Mr. Wicker) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to consider nations with open registries in the Secretary's identification of nations engaging in or endorsing illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting U.S. Fishers from Illegal Foreign Flags Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE HIGH SEAS DRIFTNET FISHING MORATORIUM PROTECTION ACT. Section 609 of the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1826j) is amended-- (1) in subsection (a)(2), by adding at the end the following: ``(E) Any nation that allows vessels to be operated under the laws of the nation without confirming a genuine link (as described in Article 5(1) of the United Nations Convention on the High Seas, done at Geneva on April 29, 1958 and entered into force September 30, 1962) between the nation and the persons or entities with beneficial ownership and control of the vessel, and that, as a result, fails to effectively exercise flag state responsibilities as described in subparagra