Markey blocks Sullivan's attempt to fast-track bycatch bill through the Senate

Sen. Dan Sullivan tried to pass his bycatch bill on the Senate floor Sept. 23 without a vote, and one Democrat, Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, stopped it.

Sullivan asked for unanimous consent, a shortcut that lets the Senate pass a bill without debate or a roll call as long as no senator objects. Even though Republicans control the Senate, any single senator can block that kind of request. Markey objected, according to the Congressional Record. He said the bill would direct new regulations across fisheries and that he needed time to hear from Massachusetts fishermen, many of whom are still on the water. He said he supports parts of it, including a fund for bycatch mitigation.

Sullivan's office said afterward that "Senate Democrats" blocked the bill. The Record shows the objection came from Markey. Sullivan said the fight "is not over." The bill can still reach the floor through the regular process, which requires time from Senate leaders and usually 60 votes to advance.

The Bycatch Reduction Act cleared the Senate Commerce Committee on Sept. 16. It would set standards for trawl fishing gear, require salmon excluders, which let salmon escape trawl nets, and reauthorize NOAA's program for developing gear that catches fewer unwanted fish. Sullivan's office describes it as an updated version of bycatch legislation he introduced last year.

Mary Peltola, the Democrat challenging Sullivan in November, called the push a "last-ditch, performative effort" in a fundraising email sent ahead of the Sept. 30 federal campaign finance deadline. She said Sullivan has taken nearly $300,000 from the trawl industry. Peltola's own 2022 House campaign took about $10,000 from trawl executives and an industry political action committee, federal campaign finance records show. She introduced her own bycatch bill in 2024.