Officials issue warning as illegal meat products enter US market: 'Unchallenged and free to enter domestic commerce'

A fishing dispute in the Gulf of Mexico is increasing competition for increasingly scarce resources, according to National Fisherman. 

What's happening?

American regulators have detected an uptick in Mexican fishing ships illegally catching red snapper in American waters. Lawmakers are calling for a ban on imports of the fish from Mexico.

"A recent DHS Office of Inspector General report found that the Coast Guard interdicts only one in every five detected foreign fishing vessels, leaving nearly 80% of illegal incursions unchallenged and free to enter domestic commerce through opaque supply chains," Sens. John Kennedy and Bill Cassidy wrote in a joint letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Why is red snapper important?

The fishing industry's appetite has only grown despite dwindling supply. Red snapper has faced steep depletions over multiple decades. Its collapse could spell economic disaster for fishers in the Gulf of Mexico on both sides of the border, not to mention the ecological domino effect it would have on other species that rely on red snapper.

Overfishing is one danger to fisheries, but warming oceans and pollution compound that challenge. With declining stocks come rising prices and decreasing food security, especially in remote coastal communities with few alternatives.

What's being done about red snapper?

Enforced protections have allowed red snapper to recover in the Gulf of Mexico. This has included quotas and netting regulations to reduce bycatch.

Meanwhile, regulators are seeking stronger action to stop red snapper from crossing the Mexican border.

"We would appreciate NOAA Fisheries' action in more aggressively applying its existing authorities to ensure that illegally harvested red snapper is not sold in the United States," the joint letter read.

You can do your part by eating less fish, easing pressure on stressed populations. Plant-based diets can be both delicious and nutritious. Alternatively, invasive species such as lionfish are regularly targeted for culinary use due to the ecological risk they present.

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