Great Lakes Mass Marking Program Act of 2025
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReceived; read twice and referred to theCommittee on Environment and …
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the …
Additional sponsors: Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Bergman, Ms. Kaptur, and Mr. …
Mrs. Dingell (for herself, Mr. Huizenga, and Mr. Walberg) introduced …
On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended
Great Lakes Mass Marking Program Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
Establishes a formal Great Lakes Mass Marking Program to tag hatchery-produced fish, enabling scientists and managers to distinguish between hatchery and wild fish populations. Addresses ecosystem changes from invasive species and prey species declines.
Who Benefits and How
Great Lakes states and tribes benefit from improved fishery management data. Commercial and recreational fishing industries benefit from better-informed stocking decisions. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gains formalized authority and resources for the program.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Federal taxpayers fund the expanded marking program. The USFWS must scale up from current 9-11 million annual fish tags to meet program objectives.
Key Provisions
- Formalizes collaboration between 8 Great Lakes states, tribes, and USFWS
- Mass marking distinguishes hatchery fish from wild fish
- Supports science-based decisions on stocking rates and habitat restoration
- Builds on program initiated in 2010 on limited scale
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Establishes Great Lakes Mass Marking Program for fish population management
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Formalize and expand successful pilot program for fishery management"
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "usfws"
- → U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- "council"
- → Council of Lake Committees of Great Lakes Fishery Commission
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology