Commerce and NOAA to develop seafood origin test to catch illegal fishing
S. 283 — Illegal Red Snapper and Tuna Enforcement Act · Filed by Ted Cruz (R-TX) · 4 cosponsors · Introduced Jan 28, 2025 · Signed
Your members of Congress
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What it does
This bill directs the Commerce Department and NOAA to develop a chemical-analysis method that can identify where seafood comes from, using a portable field kit, to help law enforcement catch illegal fishing and seafood fraud. The focus is on red snapper and tuna as test cases, with a report due in two years on whether the method works and how to use it.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a mandate for federal agencies to develop a scientific detection tool to support law enforcement against illegal fishing and seafood fraud. It is a straightforward public-safety and consumer-protection measure with no private carve-outs or immunity grants.
What the text implies
- The methodology may become a de facto standard for seafood importers and retailers, creating compliance costs for legitimate businesses that choose to adopt it voluntarily or face market pressure.
- Success of the chemical-analysis approach depends on scientific feasibility; if the methodology proves impractical (as the bill acknowledges may happen), enforcement gaps may persist and the two-year timeline may slip.
- The bill focuses on red snapper and tuna but does not limit the methodology to those species—once developed, it could be applied to all seafood, potentially expanding enforcement scope beyond the stated pilot.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Citizens gain transparency and enforcement tools against illegal seafood imports and fraud, which protects legal fisheries, food safety, and honest market competition. The bill imposes no new restrictions on citizens' rights or remedies—it only requires government agencies to develop a detection tool.
Named in the bill
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Coast Guard, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House Committee on Natural Resources, High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act (section 609(e))
Where it stands
4 cosponsors: 3 Republicans, 1 Democrats.
- Jan 28, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Jan 28, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation”
- Feb 5, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably”
- Jul 14, 2025 — Passed the Senate · Congress.gov: “Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S4341; text: CR S4341-4342)”
- Sep 14, 2026 — Passed both chambers · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote”
- Sep 14, 2026 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Westerman moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended”
- Oct 5, 2026 — Sent to president · Congress.gov: “Presented to President”
- Oct 15, 2026 — Signed into law · Congress.gov: “Became Public Law No: 119-123”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
2 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $65,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 20 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 41% of bills with at least one filing.
Ted Cruz, the sponsor, reported $531,115 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Southern Shrimp Alliance — $45,000 on 1 filing
- Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders' Alliance — $20,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (3,155 characters) on May 21, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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