# The SEAS Act of 2024: Fighting Illegal Fishing Off Africa's Coasts

This bill is about tackling illegal fishing in African waters—a problem that costs African countries billions of dollars every year and threatens both their food supply and their economies. The bill directs the U.S. government to work more closely with African countries to stop fishing vessels (many from China) that operate without permission, don't report their catches, or break fishing rules in African territorial waters.

The core issue is that massive industrial fishing fleets are depleting fish stocks off Africa's coasts while African governments struggle to monitor and enforce their own fishing laws. The bill estimates this illegal fishing costs Africa around $11.5 billion annually. Beyond the economic damage, these operations often involve serious labor abuses—workers on these vessels face dangerous conditions, wage theft, and forced labor. The bill requires the U.S. to help African countries build better systems to track fishing vessels using technology like GPS monitoring, strengthen their enforcement capabilities, and train their officials to catch and prosecute violators.

Practically speaking, the bill creates several action items for U.S. government agencies. The State Department, Coast Guard, and other federal agencies must develop a detailed strategy focused on specific African countries hit hardest by illegal fishing. They'll need to deploy more U.S. Coast Guard personnel to American embassies in Africa to work directly with local authorities, conduct training exercises, and share intelligence about suspicious vessels. The bill also requires regular reports to Congress tracking progress—how many illegal fishing vessels were detected, how many were stopped, and whether African partner countries are actually improving their ability to police their own waters.

The bill also addresses the labor abuse side of the problem by requiring the U.S. to help African countries develop laws and enforcement mechanisms that protect fishing workers from exploitation. Additionally, it mandates that American diplomats and military officers assigned to countries with significant fishing industries receive training on how to identify and combat illegal fishing operations, so they can better support local efforts even in their regular diplomatic work.