The agency is revoking or restricting the visas of individuals engaged in illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing or related activities.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau announced that the State Department will impose visa restrictions on 26 foreign nationals responsible for, complicit in, facilitating, or benefiting from illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and IUU fishing-related activities. It is the first move in the department’s “more assertive global approach to protecting the U.S. fishing industry and global fish resources.”
State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said, “The United States and every other country that engages in fishing must effectively manage its fisheries, and the actions of these individuals who seek to ignore the rules for short-term, selfish gain at the expense of U.S. consumers and producers must stop. With these visa restrictions we are sending a clear message: people who seek to enrich themselves through IUU fishing are not welcome in the United States.”
The department announced that it “revoked the visas of former Argentine official Pablo Ferrara for corrupt activities that facilitated IUU fishing and undermined fair market access for American fishermen and Mexican national Jose Ali Amador for the illegal harvest of an endangered fish species, fueling trafficking operations along the U.S. border.”
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Deputy Secretary Landau as he fills his role in the State Department and facilitates the visa revocation of those engaged in IUU activities.
- For Secretary Rubio as he leads the Department of State and oversees efforts to protect the U.S. fishing industry.
Sources: State Department
