46 Proceedings Fall 2025 Seafood Competitiveness.34 The executive order dis- cusses the importance of bolstering the American sea- food industry by targeting unfair trade practices by foreign nations and reducing regulatory burdens on the national fishing fleet. IUU fishing, globally and in the Arctic, is more than a resource issue. It’s a multifaceted challenge intersecting with global geopolitics, economic interests, and national security. Mitigation requires robust international col- laboration as well as substantial investment in the moni- toring and protection of the Arctic region. Race to Lead Arctic Capabilities As the Arctic’s strategic value continues to surge, nations are considering new investments to secure their spot in Arctic security, shipping, and resource exploitation. In response to Russian and Chinese Arctic influence, the United States, Canada, and Finland entered into the ICE Pact Agreement in 2024—a trilateral maritime security agreement revolving around shared goals to advance polar icebreaker production.35 Similarly, the United States Coast Guard is gradu- ally moving forward on revitalizing its small, aging icebreaking fleet. Final approval to begin construction on a polar security cutter (PSC), the first heavy polar icebreaker to be constructed in the United States in more than 50 years, was received in December 2024.36 Both ICE Pact and the PSC are notable advances in U.S. Arctic capabilities, bolstering regulatory, enforcement, search and rescue, and environmental response missions. Given that only 0.13% of global shipbuilding capacity resides in North America, it is unsurprising that other nations are outpacing the United States on the polar- capability marathon.37 Both China and Russia operate more polar-capable vessels than the United States, and in 2024, China completed a rapid 10-month construction on its first Arctic-capable research vessel designed for deep-sea exploration.38 As the Arctic continues to evolve geopolitically, the international community must prioritize a rules-based resource extraction to ensure long-term sustainability and global security. About the authors: LCDR Brittany Akers joined the Coast Guard in 2010 and attended Offi- cer Candidate School in 2012. She currently serves as a staff attorney at Atlantic Area where she manages the operational law portfolio. She is originally from North Carolina. Bryan Burkhalter is the U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area Arctic opera- tional planning specialist. He works with Coast Guard, interagency, and international partners in the development and execution of Arctic mis- sions in support of national strategies. He retired in 2023 after 22 years of active-duty service in the Coast Guard. Endnotes: 1. Arctic.noaa.gov 2. See https://www.pmel.noaa.gov/arctic-zone/future/bib/EarthsFutureJEO. pdf (NOAA research paper) 3. https://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_ overview_convention.htm#:~:text=by%20%22*%22.,The%20United%20 Nations%20Convention%20on%20the%20Law%20of%20the%20Sea,the%20 oceans%20and%20their%20resources. 4. UNCLOS EEZ cite 5. https://www.thearcticinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/TAI- Infographic-ContinentalShelfClaims.pdf 6. Unmoored from the UN: The Struggle to Ratify UNCLOS in the United States - The SAIS Review of International Affairs 7. https://www.highnorthnews.com/en/us-initiates-extended-continental- shelf-claims 8. heritage.org/global-politics/commentary/7-reasons-us-should-not-ratify- un-convention-the-law-the-sea 9. Unleashing America’s Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources – The White House 10. https://www.thearcticinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/TAI- Infographic-ContinentalShelfClaims.pdf 11. The Arctic Council, a Quick Guide, (3rd Ed. (2023) 12. West, Russia manage limited cooperation in Arctic despite chill in ties | Reuters 13. “Without Russia, the Arctic Council Will Not Survive” 14. 2024 Salmon Harvest Summary: Press Release, Alaska Department of Fish and Game 15. Navigating Troubled Waters: Combating Alaskan Commercial Fishing Declines and Rising Global Threats | Wilson Center 16. U.S. Coast Guard encounters joint Chinese Coast Guard, Russian Border Guard patrol in Bering Sea > United States Coast Guard News > Press Releases 17. China Increasing Interest in Strategic Arctic Region > U.S. Department of Defense > Defense Department News 18. Hot spots of unseen fishing vessels | Science Advances 19. Move the IUU Fight Up the Food Chain | Proceedings - November 2023 Vol. 149/11/1,449 20. See e.g., Yoshioki Oozeki et al.,“Reliable Estimation of IUU Fishing Catch Amounts in the Northwestern Pacific Adjacent to the Japanese EEZ: Potential for Usage of Satellite Remote Sensing Images,” Marine Policy 88 (February 2018): 64–74. 21. How China’s Expanding Fishing Fleet Is Depleting the World’s Oceans - Yale e360 22. Hundreds of fishing fleets that go ‘dark’ suspected of illegal hunting, study finds | Fishing | The Guardian 23. https://sundayguardianlive.com/top-five/silent-invasion-chinas-fishing- fleet-is-militarising-the-indian-ocean# 24. https://sundayguardianlive.com/top-five/silent-invasion-chinas-fishing- fleet-is-militarising-the-indian-ocean# 25. China’s distant-water fishing fleet: scale, impact and governance | ODI: Think change 26. Fishing for Trouble: Chinese IUU Fishing and the Risk of Escalation | Proceedings - February 2023 Vol. 149/2/1,440 27. Luo and Panter, “China’s Maritime Militia and Fishing Fleets.” (2021) China’s Maritime Militia and Fishing Fleets 28. Id. 29. China’s Maritime Militia and Fishing Fleets 30. The Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement – what it is, is not and might be - WWF Arctic 31. 2025 Polar Maritime Seminar | PAME 32. China’s ratification of Port State Measures Agreement marks a “concrete measure” in battle against IUU | SeafoodSource 33. China joins major treaty to curb illegal fishing | Dialogue Earth 34. Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness – The White House 35. ICE Pact | Homeland Security 36. Coast Guard is building nation’s first polar security cutter > United States Coast Guard > Latest Acquisition News 37. 360° View of America’s “ICE Pact” Polar Icebreaker Partnership with Canada and Finland | Wilson Center 38. China Delivers Arctic-Capable Research Vessel, Expanding Polar Presence
