The U.S. Senate is considering two international treaties that Sen. Lisa Murkowski says would help crack down on pirate fishing in the North Pacific. Murkowski today told the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee that illegal high seas fishing is an economic threat to the crab industry. The senator says it lowers the market price, costing legitimate harvesters more than half a billion dollars since the year 2000.
“As recently as 2011, NOAA Law Enforcement seized 112 metric tons of illegally harvested Russian king crab that was being shipped to U.S. markets through the Port of Seattle,” she told the committee.
Murkowski says the illegal crab catch has also deprived Alaska of millions in landing fees. One of the treaties aims to require countries to better police their ports to keep pirate shipping vessels from unloading. The senator has a special interest in the Bering Sea crab fishery, made famous by the “Deadliest Catch” TV show. Murkowski says her son just finished a season working as a crab fisherman.
“He’s heading back home and he’s probably going to have some Bering Sea crab stories that I’m not sure his mother is really ready to hear yet, but I’m bracing myself,” she said.
Both treaties had broad support at today’s Senate hearing.
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
