The Protect American Fisheries Act of 2025 expands the types of disasters that fishing communities can claim under federal law by adding "economic cause" as a new reason to declare a fishery resource disaster. Previously, only natural disasters, disease, and human-caused accidents qualified. Under this bill, economic disasters caused by foreign persons—including illegal fishing, predatory pricing, and foreign government subsidies that harm U.S. seafood markets—would now be eligible for disaster declarations. The legislation affects U.S. fishermen and fishing communities who could use these declarations to access federal assistance and relief. The bill does not specify new funding amounts or timelines, but instead modifies existing disaster relief provisions in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to include documentation of foreign economic activities harming American fisheries.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.