H.R. 6150

119 HR 6150 IH: Protect American Fisheries Act of 2025
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-11-19
 text/xml
 EN
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 I  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. R. 6150  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   November 19, 2025   Ms. Mace  (for herself,  Mr. Donalds ,  Mr. Carter of Louisiana ,  Mr. Moore of Alabama ,  Mr. Golden of Maine ,  Mr. Weber of Texas ,  Mr. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas ,  Mr. Higgins of Louisiana , and  Mr. Murphy ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on Natural Resources    A BILL
To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to add an economic cause as an allowable cause to declare a fishery resource disaster.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Protect American Fisheries Act of 2025  .
2.
Economic fishery resource disasters
Section 312(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1861a(a) ) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (1)—
(A)
in subparagraph (A), by inserting  economic cause,  after  discrete anthropogenic cause, ;
(B)
by redesignating subparagraphs (D) through (G) as subparagraphs (F) through (I), respectively;
(C)
by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (D);
(D)
by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following:
(C)
Economic cause
The term  economic cause  means any activity carried out by a foreign person that the Secretary determines—
(i)
distorts the market for a fishery resource;
(ii)
disrupts the sustainable harvest of a fishery resource; or
(iii)
hinders the operational or economic viability of a fishery resource.
 ;
(E)
in subparagraph (D)(i), as so redesignated, by inserting  or significant disruption to the fishery resource or economy of a fishing community  after  fishery resource ; and
(F)
by inserting after subparagraph (D), as so redesignated, the following:
(E)
Foreign person
The term  foreign person  means—
(i)
an individual who is not a citizen or national of the United States;
(ii)
a government of a foreign country and any unit of such government;
(iii)
an international financial institution (as the term  international financial institutions  is defined in section 1701(c) of the International Financial Institutions Act ( 22 U.S.C. 262r(c) ));
(iv)
a partnership, association, corporation, organization, or other combination of persons organized under the laws of or having its principal place of business in a foreign country; and
(v)
a partnership, association, corporation, organization, or other combination of persons organized under the laws of the United States that is owned by, directly or indirectly controlled by, or subject to the direction of a person or an entity described in clauses (i) through (iv).
 ;
(2)
in paragraph (3)(B)(v)—
(A)
in subclause (III), by striking  and  at the end;
(B)
in subclause (IV), by striking the period at the end and inserting  ; and ; and
(C)
by inserting after subclause (IV) the following:
(V)
if applicable with respect to the cause of the fishery resource disaster, information documenting the adverse effects of activities carried out by a foreign person on the operational or economic viability of the applicable fishery, including—
(aa)
illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing, including the use of forced or child labor;
(bb)
predatory pricing; and
(cc)
the provision of subsidies that—
(AA)
have an adverse effect on the price in the United States or export markets of seafood produced by the applicable fishery; or
(BB)
otherwise cause a distortion of such markets.
    ;
(3)
in paragraph (4)(B)(i)(II)—
(A)
in item (ii), by striking  and  at the end;
(B)
in item (jj), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
(C)
by adding at the end the following:
(kk)
prices in the United States or export markets of seafood produced in the fishery; and
(ll)
if the requester submits information described in paragraph (3)(B)(v)(V), any activities carried out by a foreign person that contribute to an economic cause of the fishery resource disaster and the specific economic effects thereof.
  ; and
(4)
in paragraph (5)(A)—
(A)
in clause (iii)—
(i)
by striking  a combination  and inserting  any combination ; and
(ii)
by striking  and an anthropogenic cause  and inserting  , anthropogenic cause, or economic cause ;
(B)
by redesignating clauses (iii) and (iv) as clauses (iv) and (v), respectively; and
(C)
by inserting after clause (ii) the following:
(iii)
an economic cause;
 .