H.R. 5699 — Fisheries Data Modernization and Accuracy Act of 2025

This section establishes definitions for 14 terms used in the Act, including "Administrator" (i.e., the NOAA Administrator acting through the National Marine Fisheries Service Director); "fishery" and "stock of fish" (as defined in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, 16 U.S.C. 1802); "MRIP" (i.e., the Marine Recreational Information Program of the National Marine Fisheries Service); "pulse species" (i.e., species caught intermittently due to regulatory constraints or seasonal availability and likely undersampled by MRIP); "seasonal fishery" (i.e., a fishery subject to annual closures or in-season/post-season accountability measures); "regional fishery management council," "scientific and statistical committee," and "regional state fisheries commission" (as established under the Magnuson-Stevens Act); and others.

This section directs the NOAA Administrator to reform the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP)—which collects recreational fishing catch and effort data for federal fishery stock assessments and management—to address regional and state needs without diluting existing state survey programs. The section requires the Administrator to contract with the National Academies for an independent standing committee of recreational fisheries data experts, including state agency representatives, to advise on data issues; mandates consultation with the committee, followed by a public report within six months sent to the relevant Regional Fishery Management Council, if the percent standard error (PSE) for MRIP data on a seasonal fishery reaches or exceeds 30% in a given survey wave or upon state petition (e.g., if PSE significantly deviates from the prior three-year average, exceeds state survey PSE, or involves pulse species); and directs consideration of options to reduce PSE or adjust management, including multi-year or block average annual catch limits of up to three years and recommendations from the National Academies' 2021 report on recreational fisheries data strategies. If PSE cannot practicably be reduced to 30% or less after consultation, the Administrator, with the standing committee, states, and stakeholders, may develop and peer-review alternative data collection methods to replace MRIP for that fishery. The section specifies that it does not override the advisory role of Regional Fishery Management Council scientific and statistical committees.

This section authorizes states, subject to National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Administrator approval, to implement recreational fishery catch and effort data collection programs for federally managed species in state and federal waters. Such programs must meet NMFS standards for comparable data across states (with design flexibility), report data timely per current law (16 U.S.C. 1881), and minimize angler burden; within three years of a state's first data report, NMFS must use the data without calibration to the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) and as the baseline for historic catch estimates (replacing MRIP data). State data may be used in federal stock assessments and management in place of MRIP data (if collected equivalently); MRIP data must be calibrated to state data (with cross-state comparisons), but state data may not be calibrated to MRIP. (Thus, state programs can supplant the federal MRIP, the primary source of recreational fishing statistics for quota-setting and stock assessments under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.) This section further directs the Administrator to establish a grant program within 180 days of enactment to fund state program development or improvement (prioritizing reductions in MRIP uncertainty for economically important species, overfished stocks, or intermingled fisheries); redirects prior MRIP funding allocations to approved state programs; and requires biennial reports to Congress (starting two years after enactment) on program implementation, state participation, data use in assessments, and precision improvements over MRIP.

This section amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) to define “stock assessment” as an evaluation of the past, present, and future status of a stock of fish, including a range of life history characteristics (e.g., geographical boundaries, age, growth, natural mortality, sexual maturity and reproduction, feeding habits, and habitat preferences, to the extent practicable) and fishing for the stock. (As background, stock assessments inform fishery management plans (FMPs) by determining stock status and sustainable catch levels to prevent overfishing.) The section further directs the Secretary of Commerce to develop and publish in the Federal Register a stock assessment plan—on the same schedule as strategic plans under MSA Section 404(b)—covering priority stocks under FMPs, including: (1) for previously assessed stocks, a schedule for updates every 5 years (or other justified period), subject to appropriations; (2) for unassessed stocks, an initial assessment within 3 years of plan publication (or other justified period), subject to appropriations; and (3) identification of data and analyses to reduce uncertainty and improve future assessments, potentially sourced from fishermen, communities, universities, and research institutions consistent with MSA scientific information requirements. The Secretary may waive assessments if unnecessary, with justification published in the Federal Register. The first plan is due not later than 2 years after enactment.

This section establishes a program under which the Administrator enters into competitive contracts with independent entities to conduct fishery-independent surveys (i.e., direct stock assessments not reliant on fisher-reported data) estimating the absolute abundance of fish stocks included in the Fish Stock Sustainability Index. To be eligible, entities must submit applications demonstrating (1) use of modern or cutting-edge science and (2) reliable data handling capabilities. Upon favorable peer review and in consultation with relevant scientific and statistical committees—considering the report under section 7—the Administrator must incorporate such survey data into fishery management decisions and submit annual reports on survey findings and data incorporation to the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

This section directs the National Academies, in consultation with the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, to submit to the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and make publicly available, a report not later than one year after enactment regarding (1) the incorporation of results from the August 16, 2021, study titled "Estimating the Absolute Abundance of Age-2+ Red Snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico" into National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) management decisions; and (2) recommendations for incorporating data collected under section 6 into NMFS management decisions. (As background, NMFS manages commercial and recreational fisheries for red snapper in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico.)

This section requires the scientific and statistical committees (SSCs) of the regional fishery management councils—appointed to provide scientific and statistical advice on fishery management plans—to develop such advice transparently and with public involvement. (1) It further directs each council to post, to the extent practicable, webcasts, live audio recordings, or live broadcasts of its open meetings and those of its council coordination committees on the council's website; and (2) by not later than 30 days after open council and SSC meetings, post audio or video recordings (if in-person or video) or searchable transcripts of such meetings. (3) It requires the Secretary of Commerce to maintain and publicly archive all such recordings and transcripts.