Why It Matters
The National Fisheries Institute Inc. (NFI) filed a second-quarter 2026 lobbying disclosure covering seafood industry concerns spanning tariffs, fisheries management, food labeling, and immigration.
NFI's disclosure lists lobbying on tariffs and trade disputes, seafood traceability regulations, the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) reauthorization, illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, H-2B visa processing, port congestion, and food labeling enforcement, including the labeling of plant-based seafood alternatives. The filing also lists the American Seafood Competitiveness Act, the Fighting Illegal Seafood Harvest (FISH) Act, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act implementation, and fiscal year 2027 appropriations as specific areas of engagement.
By the Numbers
NFI's in-house team filed the $200,000 second-quarter 2026 report on September 29. The in-house team reported $200,000 in each of the four quarters from the third quarter of 2025 through the second quarter of 2026.
The lobbyists listed on this filing are Robert DeHann, Kedrin Simms Brachman, Morgan Bell, and Lisa Wallenda Picard.
Broader Context
The in-house filing lists the FISH Act, bycatch concerns, fishing gear limitations, offshore wind impacts on fisheries, and the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) expansion among its disclosed issues.
In June 2025, Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) introduced the bipartisan FISH Act alongside Representatives Seth Magaziner (D-RI) and Nick Begich (R-AK). Magaziner's release, dated June 6, 2025, also announced the bill's introduction and cites NFI as a supporter.
The Bottom Line
NFI's second-quarter 2026 disclosure centers on trade, traceability, and enforcement against illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, as well as bycatch and fishing gear concerns.
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