December 9, 2020 — Stephanie Madsen, executive director of the At-sea Processors Association, testified Tuesday at a US Senate subcommittee hearing that US fishing vessels have been shaken by a spate of incidents involving Russian military vessels in the US Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) that significantly disrupted operations the Bering Sea in August and September.
“The feeling of certainty and safety has been shattered by recent confrontations initiated by Russian military warships and warplanes with US-flagged fishing vessels operating lawfully within the US EEZ,” she testified.
Earlier this summer, the Russian Navy conducted its largest war games exercise since the Cold War near Alaska, according to the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. Russia has also reopened over 50 previously closed Soviet military facilities and positioned early warning radar and missile systems near Alaska.