Florida Safe Seas Act of 2025
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill amends section 317 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act so the federal prohibition on feeding sharks applies not only in the exclusive economic zone off Hawaii, but also in the exclusive economic zone off Florida. The legal change is narrow: it changes the statutory reference from the State to the States and inserts Florida after Hawaii. In practical terms, it gives federal fishery managers and enforcement officers the same shark-feeding ban for federal waters off Florida that Congress previously established for Hawaii.
Who Benefits and How
Florida beach communities and coastal tourism businesses benefit because the bill reduces federally tolerated shark-feeding activity that can condition sharks to associate boats or people with food near recreation areas. Florida charter operators and dive businesses that rely on safe public confidence in coastal waters benefit from clearer federal rules. National Marine Fisheries Service enforcement staff benefit from a direct statutory hook for Florida rather than having to rely on more general fishery-management authorities. Beachgoers, surfers, swimmers, and recreational boaters benefit from a policy aimed at lowering human-shark interaction risk in federal waters off Florida.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Shark-feeding tour operators and boat captains operating in the exclusive economic zone off Florida lose the ability to conduct feeding-based shark-attraction activities in those federal waters. National Marine Fisheries Service enforcement officers and Coast Guard boarding officers take on monitoring and enforcement work if shark-feeding complaints or investigations arise. Florida marine-tourism businesses that used feeding as part of a customer attraction model may need to redesign trips around non-feeding wildlife viewing.
Key Provisions
- Adds Florida to the existing Magnuson-Stevens shark-feeding prohibition that applies in the exclusive economic zone off Hawaii.
- Modifies the statutory wording from a single State reference to multiple States.
- Provides federal enforcement authority for shark-feeding conduct in the exclusive economic zone off Florida.
- Leaves the short title as the Florida Safe Seas Act of 2025.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Extends the Magnuson-Stevens shark-feeding prohibition that already applies off Hawaii so it also covers shark feeding in the exclusive economic zone off Florida.
Key Policy Areas
Fisheries, Marine Safety, Tourism
Primary Purpose
Extends the Magnuson-Stevens shark-feeding prohibition that already applies off Hawaii so it also covers shark feeding in the exclusive economic zone off Florida.
Policy Domains
House resolution provisions
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Florida beach communities
- Florida coastal tourism businesses
- Florida charter boat operators
- National Marine Fisheries Service enforcement staff
- Florida beachgoers
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Shark-feeding tour operators
- Florida shark-attraction boat captains
- National Marine Fisheries Service enforcement officers
- Coast Guard boarding officers
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedReceived in the Senate and Read twice and referred to …
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, …
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without …
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate …
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules …
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill …
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without …
Mr. Westerman moved to suspend the rules and pass the …
Additional sponsors: Mr. Rutherford, Mr. Haridopolos, Mr. Bilirakis, and Mr. …
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 572.
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "nmfs"
- → National Marine Fisheries Service
- "coast_guard"
- → United States Coast Guard
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