Sponsors (16)
The bill improves public safety, navigation, transparency, and federal-state-tribal data coordination by standardizing and publishing EEZ geospatial data while preserving tribal consultation rights, but it raises federal costs, privacy/sovereignty and compliance concerns, and leaves some legal uncertainties about scope and administrative discretion.
Indigenous tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations keep their existing treaty and consultation rights and are explicitly included in program definitions, so tribal governments and communities retain protections and clear eligibility for participation and consultation under the Act.
Recreational boaters, anglers, divers, and small commercial operators get clearer, standardized maps and geospatial data showing where activities are allowed or restricted, improving safety, navigation, and reducing accidental violations.
State, Tribal, and federal agencies (and local governments) gain improved interagency coordination and use of consistent statutory definitions and data standards, reducing duplication, increasing database compatibility, and making enforcement and public notices easier to coordinate.
Taxpayers and federal agencies will face new costs to develop, host, and maintain the FAIR GIS portal and to implement geospatial standards, increasing federal spending or requiring reallocation of NOAA and other agency resources.
Rural communities, tribal residents, and local fishers could be harmed if the Secretary has broad discretion to label 'other' fishing restrictions, creating uncertainty and potential centralized decision-making that affects access and livelihoods.
Tribes, nonprofits, and the public may face privacy, commercialization, and sovereignty risks from partnering with private geospatial firms and from federal data distribution—raising concerns about data commercialization, misuse, or conflicts with tribal/state laws.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Requires NOAA to publish interoperable public GIS data and standards about fishing restrictions, recreational vessel access, and navigation information in the U.S. EEZ, with update and privacy rules.
Introduced May 13, 2025 by Russell Fry · Last progress May 13, 2025
Requires the Secretary of Commerce to create technical standards and publish publicly accessible geographic (GIS) data and maps describing where recreational vessels may operate and where fishing is restricted in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The law directs NOAA’s fisheries office to host FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable) datasets on a public website, update key layers regularly, allow public comment and subscription updates, protect sensitive tribal and proprietary information, and coordinate with states, tribes, federal agencies, academia, and private experts to ensure interoperability.