Sustaining America’s Fisheries for the Future Act of 2025

This bill updates the nation’s main fisheries law to protect fish and the people who depend on them. It focuses on climate change, cutting accidental catch, and keeping ocean habitats healthy.

It also adds Tribal voices to key regional fishery councils and improves openness and ethics in how those councils operate. It speeds up action to end overfishing and rebuild weak fish stocks, improves tracking of accidental catch, and creates new tools and grants to help coastal communities and fishermen. The bill sets harassment‑prevention training and limits lobbying by council members, and orders audits and studies to strengthen data and oversight.

• Who is affected: Commercial, recreational, and charter fishermen; Tribal governments in Alaska and the Pacific; regional fishery councils and their staff; coastal states and communities; and federal agencies whose projects can affect fish habitat.

• What changes: Makes fisheries “climate‑ready” (new innovation program, training, and rules for shifting fish); cuts accidental catch with a national reporting program and stronger bycatch rules; speeds up rebuilding with clear timelines and science standards; strengthens habitat and forage fish protections; adds Tribal seats to key councils; limits council lobbying and requires harassment‑prevention training; supports working waterfronts and seafood marketing; and expands community participation while auditing who owns and leases catch shares.

• Key dates:

  • Within 1 year: start the climate‑ready innovation program; begin harassment‑prevention training; inspector general briefs Congress on the catch‑share audit.
  • Within 18 months: issue national forage‑fish guidelines.
  • Within 3 years: launch the national bycatch reporting program.
  • 180 days to 1 year: add river herring and shad to Atlantic plans and complete follow‑up measures, with at‑sea monitoring on at least half of certain mid‑water trawl trips.
  • Within 2 years: councils must act after an overfishing finding; deliver an international strategy for cross‑border shifting stocks.
  • 2026–2030: funding authorized for climate‑ready tools ($5M/year) and working waterfronts ($50M/year).