Bycatch Reduction and Research Act of 2026
Sponsored By: Representative Begich, Nicholas J. [R-AK-At Large]
Introduced
Summary
Would reduce bycatch and deepen research on Alaska-origin salmon and benthic habitat. The bill would back new tagging and faster genetic tests, speed electronic monitoring and reporting, and create grants and a fund to help fishermen adopt gear that lowers bycatch and seafloor contact.
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- Fishermen and vessel operators: Would create the Bycatch Mitigation and Habitat Protection Assistance Fund to provide grants and financial help to buy or modify gear, equipment, and technology, and would streamline exempted fishing permits and electronic monitoring pilot approvals to support gear adoption and testing.
- Researchers, Alaska Natives, and Tribes: Would reconstitute the Alaska Salmon Research Task Force as the Bycatch Reduction and Research Task Force, add two academic experts, and require public-private partnerships, satellite tagging, and a competitive grant program for real-time genetic analyses with interim annual reports and a final report within three years.
- Management and science centers: Would authorize a flume tank and a Flume Tank Assistance Fund for testing gear, require NOAA to integrate electronic monitoring and observer data into stock assessments, and publish plain-language observer coverage rules and reports on data integration and bycatch avoidance strategies.
*Would authorize $4.0 million per year for fiscal years 2027–2031, increasing federal spending.*
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
Modernize electronic monitoring rules
This bill would require NOAA to speed up and integrate electronic monitoring and reporting into stock assessment and regional science workflows. It would reduce data latency, support interoperable databases for near-real-time use, and align EM quality and retention with traditional observer data. NOAA would streamline and set timelines for experimental and exempted fishing permits, including for fishermen who use assistance fund money, while keeping conservation objectives. Regional offices would publish plain-language observer coverage rules and hold public consultations every three years with at least a 60-day comment period.
Grants and testing funds for gear
This bill would create donation-run and NOAA-run funds to help test and buy gear that reduces salmon bycatch and seafloor contact. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation would run a donation-funded Bycatch Mitigation and Habitat Protection Assistance Fund to give financial help to fishermen to buy or modify gear. NOAA would set up a Flume Tank Assistance Fund and a public-private flume tank for testing prototypes and training. The bill would also authorize $4,000,000 per year for FY2027–FY2031 for the Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program, if Congress appropriates the money.
New salmon research task force
This bill would recreate the Alaska Salmon Research Task Force as the Bycatch Reduction and Research Task Force. The Commerce Secretary would add two academic experts and the Task Force would review NOAA research and give priority recommendations. NOAA would form public-private partnerships to study Alaska-origin salmon and require satellite or intelligent tagging to map migration. NOAA would also run competitive grants to speed genetic testing so managers can get near-real-time stock ID.
Study trawl impacts on seafloor
This bill would direct NOAA to study how non-pelagic and pelagic trawl gear contact affects shallow shelves and benthic habitats in the Bering Sea, Aleutians, and Gulf of Alaska. The research would review climate and ecosystem drivers like heatwaves, sea ice, acidification, prey shifts, disease, and hatchery effects. NOAA would prioritize data that supports conservation and publish interim annual reports and a final report within three years with management recommendations.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Begich, Nicholas J. [R-AK-At Large]
AK • R
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov