“To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish and carry out a program to sequence the genomes of aquatic species.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section provides the short title of the Act as the “Aquatic Biodiversity Preservation Act of 2025.”
This section establishes an Aquatic Species Genome Sequencing Program under which the Secretary of the Interior must coordinate with Federal, State, Tribal, Native Hawaiian, nonprofit, and higher education entities to sequence the genomes of aquatic species to improve conservation, management, and enforcement. As background, the program is designed to build reference genomes and associated metadata for species of conservation concern, including species listed as endangered or threatened under 16 U.S.C. § 1533, species in the U.S. Geological Survey’s Non-indigenous Aquatic Species database, and species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The section directs the Secretary to: (1) identify and catalog vouchered specimens held by covered entities; (2) obtain genetic samples, including by purchase or field collection, of priority species; (3) extract and process DNA; (4) sequence genomes to accepted completeness and quality standards, including nuclear, mitochondrial, and chloroplast DNA as appropriate; (5) collect and store sequencing metadata; (6) make publicly available genomes and metadata that are not already public; (7) provide funding and technical assistance to covered entities; and (8) establish data-management and sharing principles consistent with the FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship. The section requires that, except for Tribal governments, genomes sequenced under the program be submitted to the National Center for Biotechnology Information for public availability not later than 360 days after sequencing is completed, along with raw sequence data and specified metadata, including species identity, collection location, collection date and time, sequencing process, and any additional information required under the program’s data-sharing principles. It also provides that if a Tribal Government sequences a genome or provides a sample used for sequencing, the Tribal Government alone decides whether and when the resulting data are made public. The section authorizes $2 million for each fiscal year 2025 through 2031, for a total authorization of $14 million. It defines key terms, including “aquatic species of greatest conservation need,” “covered entity,” “priority species,” and several organizational categories used for program participation.