Summary

Creates a Great Lakes Mass Marking Program inside the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to mass mark hatchery-produced fish, purchase tagging equipment and data systems, share program data with state and tribal fish managers, and hire staff as needed. The measure authorizes $2.7 million per year for each of fiscal years 2026–2030 (total $13.5 million) to run the program and its equipment needs. The program is intended to help distinguish hatchery fish from wild fish, improve understanding of hatchery effectiveness and management outcomes, inform stocking and habitat-restoration decisions, and support tribal, recreational, and commercial fisheries through coordinated data sharing and collaboration with state and tribal partners.

• Establishes a Great Lakes Mass Marking Program within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to mark hatchery-produced fish across the Great Lakes basin.
• Gives the USFWS Director authority to buy tagging equipment, tags, data systems, and hire needed personnel for the Program.
• Requires collaboration and data sharing with federal, state, and tribal fishery agencies and relevant Great Lakes management bodies.
• Aims to improve understanding of hatchery vs. wild fish abundance, evaluate stocking and restoration effectiveness, and inform fishery management.
• Authorizes $2.7 million per year for fiscal years 2026–2030 (total $13.5 million) to carry out the Program.
• Builds on existing mass-marking efforts that currently mark roughly 9–11 million hatchery fish annually in the basin.
• Focuses on science-based management to support native species recovery and the economic value of tribal, recreational, and commercial fisheries.
• Does not create new regulatory mandates for states or tribes or change tax law.
• Defines key terms (Director = USFWS Director; Program = the established mass marking program) for clarity.