Sponsors (11)
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Creates a two-year NOAA pilot program to have the agency enter cooperative agreements with pet-food, animal-feed, or aquaculture-feed manufacturers or processors to buy blue catfish caught in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed from local watermen or from processors who purchased them from watermen. The pilot sets application rules, minimum purchase prices, limited transport cost reimbursements, requirements for data sharing and annual abundance estimates, regular briefings to Congress, and a post-pilot report assessing ecological and economic effects and policy options. Also establishes a short title for the law and requires NOAA to evaluate outcomes and provide recommendations after the two-year pilot ends.
The bill creates a short, federally funded pilot to buy invasive blue catfish—aiming to boost incomes for Chesapeake Bay watermen and produce scientific data and policy recommendations—while increasing short‑term federal spending and risks of market distortion, cost pressures for manufacturers, new‑
Chesapeake Bay watermen and local processors can sell blue catfish into a NOAA pilot at a Secretary‑set minimum price and receive up to 15% transport reimbursement, increasing short‑term income and reducing price/logistics uncertainty for participating harvesters and processors.
Pet/animal/aquaculture feed manufacturers and local processors can obtain a predictable local supply through two‑year cooperative agreements, helping small businesses plan and stabilize sourcing.
NOAA will publish annual blue catfish abundance estimates and coordinate with state and research partners, improving scientific data and management of the invasive blue catfish (and informing sustainable decisions) through at least FY2032.
Taxpayers will fund purchases and reimbursements for up to two years without guaranteed long‑term benefits, increasing federal spending for a time‑limited pilot.
The pilot's purchase support may distort local seafood markets and disadvantage nonparticipating fishermen and processors by shifting demand and prices toward program participants.
Setting a Secretary‑determined minimum per‑pound price could raise input costs for feed manufacturers and processors, potentially leading to higher prices for pet and animal feed products that consumers and businesses face.
Introduced July 7, 2025 by Sarah Elfreth · Last progress March 18, 2026