# 119-hr-4800: Fisheries Modernization Act of 2025

119-hr-4800, Fisheries Modernization Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Higgins, Clay [R-LA-3] (R-LA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-05-02).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4800
- As of: 2026-05-02
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-4800
- Congress: 119
- Title: Fisheries Modernization Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-07-29
- Sponsor: Rep. Higgins, Clay [R-LA-3] (R-LA)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-05-02

## Summary

**Would expand disaster-relief eligibility** under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to cover infrastructure-related failures and to explicitly include two freshwater crawfish fisheries. - Freshwater commercial and subsistence fishers would be eligible for relief when operation or failure of federal or state infrastructure, such as levees, spillways, or diversions, causes measurable disruption to fishing, aquatic habitat, or water quality. - Red swamp crawfish (Procambarus clarkii) and white river crawfish (Procambarus zonangulus) would be added as eligible freshwater fisheries, and crawfish disaster claims would need evidence on hydrological conditions, water-quality degradation, extreme flooding or drought, or other direct environmental impacts. - The bill reorganizes statutory language to add a distinct "infrastructure-related cause" category and clarifies that marine and anadromous fisheries retain their existing eligibility for section 312 disaster assistance.

## Cosponsors (2)

- Rep. Fields, Cleo [D-LA-6] (D-LA), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carter, Troy A. [D-LA-2] (D-LA), 2025-08-26T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- More disaster aid for freshwater fisheries: benefit, medium. If enacted, more freshwater fisheries could qualify for federal disaster help. It would add infrastructure failures, like levee or spillway problems, when they measurably disrupt fishing, habitat, or water quality. Crawfish fisheries for red swamp and white river crawfish would be explicitly eligib…
- Keeps marine fishery disaster eligibility: benefit, low. This bill would keep current disaster eligibility for marine and anadromous fisheries. It says the changes could not be used to cut or limit their access to aid. It would not add funding or new benefits.

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-6644: 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act
- 119-hr-5484: National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act
- 119-hr-1514: Mississippi River Basin Fishery Commission Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-4800 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4800)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-6644: 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6644)
- [119-hr-5484: National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5484)
- [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262)
- [119-hr-1514: Mississippi River Basin Fishery Commission Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1514)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4800 (as of 2026-05-02).