# 119-hr-531: South Pacific Tuna Treaty Act of 2025

119-hr-531, South Pacific Tuna Treaty Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Del. Radewagen, Aumua Amata Coleman [R-AS-At Large] (R-AS); status passed_house; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-24).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-531
- As of: 2026-09-24
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-531
- Congress: 119
- Title: South Pacific Tuna Treaty Act of 2025
- Status: passed_house
- Introduced: 2025-01-16
- Sponsor: Del. Radewagen, Aumua Amata Coleman [R-AS-At Large] (R-AS)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-24

## Summary

**Aligns U.S. law with a South Pacific tuna treaty and Pacific Island national laws.** The bill would rewrite definitions, licensing, enforcement, reporting, and dispute rules for commercial purse-seine tuna fishing to reflect treaty terms. - Pacific Island Parties: Treats “Applicable National Law” and “Closed Area” as those a Party notices and keeps in effect. The Administrator may attach regional terms and conditions to licenses. - U.S. fishers and vessels: Expands eligibility for certain U.S.-documented purse-seine vessels to operate in the Licensing Area, on the high seas, and in U.S. waters west of 146° W and east of 129.5° E. It prohibits knowingly deploying purse-seine nets to encircle dolphins or other marine mammals. - Enforcement and administration: Revises enforcement cross-references and expands search and seizure authority for authorized officers. The bill repeals observer requirements, creates confidentiality rules with limited disclosure for enforcement and treaty management, authorizes technical assistance to Pacific Island Parties, and lets the Treaty determine arbitration location.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Rep. Case, Ed [D-HI-1] (D-HI), 2025-01-16T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Confidentiality for fishing business data: benefit, low. If enacted, information you submit under the Act would be confidential. This includes observer data and items the Administrator marks confidential. The Secretary could share it only by court order, for enforcement or national security, for Treaty administration or fishery management, to internation…
- Technical help for Pacific fisheries: benefit, low. If enacted, the U.S. could provide technical help to Pacific Island countries. Help could include training, capacity building, and support for private partnerships. This would aim to improve fisheries and licensed vessel operations.
- License rules and access for tuna boats: mixed, medium. If enacted, license applications would be sent only when they follow Secretary rules. The Secretary, with State, could refuse to forward an application for bankruptcy without financial assurances, missing insurance, unpaid final penalties, or other noncompliance. Fees would need to be paid as the T…
- Stricter rules, fewer exceptions for tuna: mixed, medium. If enacted, key terms would be tightened. A "fishing vessel" would mean purse seine tuna boats, and other craft could not aid fishing except for health or safety emergencies. New violations would include breaking regional license terms and going over fishing effort or catch limits. The Secretary wo…
- Treaty decides arbitration hearing location: mixed, low. If enacted, the Treaty text would decide where arbitration is held for Treaty disputes. The bill would remove the fixed location in statute.

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act
- 119-hr-562: BLUE Pacific Act
- 119-hr-3397: Pacific Ready Coast Guard Act
- 119-hr-2548: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act
- 119-hr-5960: Territorial De Minimis Exemption Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-531 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/531)

## Related
- [119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9237)
- [119-hr-562: BLUE Pacific Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-562)
- [119-hr-3397: Pacific Ready Coast Guard Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3397)
- [119-hr-2548: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2548)
- [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262)
- [119-hr-5960: Territorial De Minimis Exemption Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5960)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-531 (as of 2026-09-24).