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Requires the Commerce Secretary to create data standards and publish public, searchable GIS datasets about fishing restrictions, recreational-vessel use/access, and federal marine protected areas across the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The law sets deadlines for standards and data publication, mandates stakeholder consultation and interagency coordination, requires FAIR data practices and regular updates, and protects certain sensitive tribal, archaeological, and proprietary commercial fishing information from public disclosure.
The bill would make EEZ fishing rules and navigation zones more transparent and interoperable—boosting safety, enforcement, and research—while imposing federal costs, administrative and coordination burdens, privacy/proprietary risks, and some limits on local flexibility and future regulatory changes.
Recreational boaters and fishers will get standardized, publicly available geospatial maps showing EEZ fishing restrictions and authorized-use areas, making it easier to find where activities are allowed and reducing accidental violations.
State, local governments, and Tribes can use interoperable geospatial standards and datasets to better coordinate maritime enforcement, planning, and resource management.
Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations retain existing treaty rights and government-to-government consultation protections, ensuring the Act cannot diminish tribal sovereignty or bypass consultation obligations.
Maintaining, developing, and updating public EEZ geospatial standards and datasets will increase federal costs and ongoing taxpayer-funded maintenance obligations.
Coordinating multiple agencies, Tribes, states, and private partners may create administrative burdens and delays, diverting NOAA/NMFS staff time and slowing delivery of maps and services.
Narrow statutory definitions and explicit cross-references to federal authority (e.g., defining the "Secretary") could reduce local managers' flexibility or shift decisions toward federal control.
Introduced May 13, 2025 by Russell Fry · Last progress May 13, 2025