Sponsors (2)
The bill would make marine and fishing access data more standardized and widely available—greatly improving safety, planning, and interagency coordination—while raising costs, privacy/cultural-site risks, and some regulatory uncertainty for fishers and local communities unless safeguards and limits are carefully implemented.
Recreational boaters, anglers, divers, and commercial fishers will have access to clearer, standardized geospatial maps and frequently updated bathymetry (including near-real-time where specified), making trip planning safer and reducing accidental violations of fishing or access rules.
State, local, tribal, and federal managers will be able to share and integrate marine access and restriction data more easily because of required interoperability standards and coordinated federal database efforts, improving enforcement, resource management, and coastal planning.
Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations will have their treaty and management rights preserved and receive express statutory recognition and government-to-government consultation protections, safeguarding tribal sovereignty over fishing and related resources.
Commercial and recreational fishers and rural coastal communities may face increased regulatory uncertainty because the Secretary is given discretion to add unspecified 'other restrictions on fishing,' potentially expanding authority without detailed limits.
Taxpayers, federal and state agencies, and partner organizations will likely bear increased costs to develop, implement, host, and maintain interoperable geospatial standards and near-real-time GIS/bathymetry systems, plus administrative burdens for contractors.
Tribal communities and sites of cultural or archaeological importance face heightened risk that publicly released geospatial data will disclose sensitive locations, threatening cultural heritage and raising sovereignty and privacy concerns if safeguards are insufficient.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Requires NOAA to set data standards and publish public GIS datasets on fishing restrictions, recreational vessel use, and navigation in the U.S. EEZ, with timelines and tribal protections.
Introduced February 26, 2025 by Rafael Edward Cruz · Last progress September 11, 2025
Creates requirements for the Department of Commerce (acting through NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service) to set standards and publish public GIS datasets about fishing restrictions, recreational vessel use, and navigation in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ). It sets timelines to adopt data standards and post interoperable map layers, allows partnerships with states, tribes, nonprofits and private firms to implement the work, and requires protections for sensitive Tribal and commercial information. The bill directs the Secretary to consult stakeholders, coordinate with other federal agencies, update key datasets regularly, provide public comment and notification tools, and include legal disclaimers that data remain subject to federal, state, and Tribal laws. It also clarifies that the Act does not change navigable waters definitions, agency authorities, Tribal rights, or consultation requirements.