Working Waterfronts Act of 2025

This bill aims to strengthen coastal and Great Lakes communities by investing in fishing, seafood processing, clean working waterfronts, and maritime jobs. It expands USDA loans so commercial fishers and processors can finance permits, vessels, and facilities, similar to farmers and ranchers . It sets up competitive grants to help rural coastal towns build or upgrade seafood and mariculture processing and cold storage, with an action plan first and at least half of funds going to facilities with fewer than 50 employees . Another grant program protects working waterfront access with a 50% local match and bars the use of eminent domain for projects . It also updates how fisheries funds are split, including set percentages for research and support for young fishermen, and creates a prize to improve electronic fisheries monitoring tools like species recognition software .

The bill pushes cleaner boats and stronger careers. It creates a loan pilot to help commercial fishing vessels shift to alternative fuels and to build needed charging or refueling infrastructure, funded at $20 million per year from 2026–2030, with rules due within 180 days and the program launched within a year . It adds a maritime workforce grant program for training, certifications, high school pathways, and scholarships, with at least 25% of funds going to rural areas and $25 million per year authorized for 2026–2030 . Safety grants for fishing vessels are doubled for 2026–2027 and now cover training on risks like substance use and fatigue . It also grows ocean innovation by naming at least seven regional “Ocean Innovation Clusters” and creating shared centers to support entrepreneurs, jobs, and collaboration in the “Blue Economy” , and improves NOAA’s ocean acidification work with ongoing local input and greater involvement of Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations .

Key points

• Who is affected: Coastal and Great Lakes fishers, seafood and mariculture processors (especially in rural towns), maritime students and workers, waterfront-dependent businesses, Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations, and blue-economy startups .
• What changes: Easier access to loans and grants for boats, permits, processing, cold storage, and waterfront access; support to transition to alternative-fuel vessels; more training and safety programs; new innovation clusters and tech prizes; stronger local voice in ocean acidification work .
• When: Many programs run or are funded in fiscal years 2026–2030; some actions start within 180 days to one year of enactment (for example, rules and the boat fuel pilot program) .