Great Lakes Mass Marking Program Act of 2025
Great Lakes: Fish Tagging and Tracking Program
This bill was introduced in the Senate and is currently being reviewed by the Committee on Environment and Public Works. It is in the early stages of the legislative process and is considered active. There are no upcoming votes or hearings scheduled at this time.
Legislative Progress
This bill has bipartisan support and focuses on a major regional economy. While it is not a top national priority, its low cost and clear benefits for Great Lakes states make it likely to move forward.
Key Points
- This bill creates a formal program to tag and track fish raised in hatcheries before they are released into the Great Lakes. By marking these fish with automated technology, scientists can tell them apart from wild fish to see how well stocking efforts are working.
- The program would help protect the Great Lakes fishing industry, which is worth about $7 billion to the regional economy. It provides better data to help state and Tribal agencies decide how many fish to add to the lakes to keep the ecosystem healthy and balanced.
- If passed, the government would spend $5 million each year through 2030 on this project. The money would pay for high-tech tagging machines, fish tags, and the staff needed to manage all the data collected from the lakes.
- This effort aims to fix problems caused by invasive species and changes in the food chain that have hurt local fish populations. It helps ensure that the 21 million fish stocked in the lakes every year are actually helping native species recover and supporting local fishers.
Impact Analysis
Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.
Milestones
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
News
No related news coverage found for this legislation yet.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Great Lakes Mass Marking Program Act of 2025
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
(1)Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.