H.R. 6939 — Bycatch Reduction and Research Act of 2026

This section reconstitutes the Alaska Salmon Research Task Force, established by the Alaska Salmon Research Task Force Act (Public Law 117-328), as the Bycatch Reduction and Research Task Force by adding two academic experts in groundfish ecology and invertebrate ecology; assigns the task force duties to review National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) research and reports and to recommend research priorities; and exempts the task force from the Federal Advisory Committee Act. This section directs NOAA to conduct salmon life history research through public-private partnerships—including with state agencies, nonprofits, institutions of higher education, Indian Tribes, and others involving Alaska Natives, fishing industry representatives, commercial fishermen, and subsistence users—for satellite or intelligent tagging of Alaska-origin salmon in the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, and Gulf of Alaska. It further requires NOAA to establish a competitive grant program for real-time genetic stock identification and age composition of incidentally caught Alaska salmon in exclusive economic zone commercial fisheries and to publish a report within three years of enactment detailing findings and potential uses of artificial intelligence or machine learning for predictive bycatch avoidance modeling. This section requires NOAA to conduct ecosystem research on (1) impacts of non-pelagic and pelagic trawl gear on shallow benthic habitats in the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, and Gulf of Alaska; (2) a review of data on ecosystem fluctuations (e.g., harmful algal blooms, marine heatwaves, ocean acidification, predator-prey interactions, and foreign hatchery releases) affecting survivability of commercially or culturally important wild marine and anadromous species; and (3) prioritized data collection for species conservation, all through public-private partnerships with diverse experts. (Thus, the research supports bycatch reduction and conservation under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act by improving understanding of salmon migration, stock identification, and environmental drivers of fishery interactions.)

This section directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator to enter into a public-private partnership to build a flume tank (i.e., a water channel for testing models under simulated flow conditions) for NOAA, the fishing industry, and researchers to test technology and improved fishing gear aimed at reducing bycatch (i.e., unintended catch of non-target species) and contact with Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, and Gulf of Alaska marine benthic habitats (i.e., seafloor ecosystems). The section also requires the Administrator to establish the Flume Tank Assistance Fund to provide grants or other financial assistance to entities for testing innovative technologies—including prototype development of devices, instruments, sensors, or fishing gear designs to reduce bycatch and benthic habitat contact from non-pelagic and pelagic trawl gear—and for related workforce training programs.

This section directs the Administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service to (1) create a timeline and process for reviewing and approving exempted fishing permits to support innovative fishing gear and technology for reducing bycatch and marine habitat disturbances, including streamlining such permits for recipients of assistance from the Bycatch Mitigation and Habitat Protection Assistance Fund if consistent with conservation objectives; (2) streamline approvals for experimental or exempted fishing permits for electronic monitoring (EM) pilot projects if consistent with conservation objectives; (3) facilitate cooperative research programs and regional pilot frameworks; (4) conduct public stakeholder consultations at least every three years—with public notice, listening sessions, and a written comment period of at least 60 days—on revisions to EM and electronic reporting standards, cost-effectiveness improvements, usability enhancements, and barriers to EM adoption (particularly for small-scale fleets); and (5) provide a data integration strategy for EM data that incorporates it into regional science center workflows and stock assessments, aligns review timelines with observer data protocols, reduces data latency, and supports interoperable databases for near-real-time analysis. The section further requires National Marine Fisheries Service regional offices to publish online, in layman's terms, up-to-date observer coverage requirements for high-volume federal fisheries, including bycatch levels by category. (As background, observer coverage deploys human observers or EM—such as cameras and sensors—on commercial fishing vessels to monitor total catch, bycatch, and fishing impacts for stock assessments and management under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.) Finally, the section requires the Administrator to (1) publish a report within three years of enactment on improving integration of observer and EM data for spatio-temporal fishing analyses while protecting proprietary information; (2) submit to Congress and publish online a report including the data integration strategy required above; and (3) include in both reports recommendations for technologies to share near-real-time catch data identifying bycatch hotspots and for minimizing salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, and Gulf of Alaska.

This section (1) authorizes appropriations of $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031 for the Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program (i.e., a program established in 2007 to provide grants for developing technologies and conservation engineering changes that minimize bycatch, seabird interactions, bycatch mortality, and post-release mortality in federally managed fisheries); and (2) establishes in the Treasury the Bycatch Mitigation and Habitat Protection Assistance Fund, administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation using donations to provide financial assistance to fishermen and commercial fishing vessel owners and operators for purchasing or modifying gear, equipment, and technology (including innovative prototypes, instruments, or sensors) to reduce bycatch and marine benthic habitat contact from trawl gear. In administering the fund, the Foundation must consult with the Secretary of Commerce (acting through the NOAA Administrator), regional fishery management councils, and National Marine Fisheries Service science centers; and, not later than three years after enactment (and biennially thereafter), the Foundation must publicly post online a report on fund usage for the preceding three or two years, respectively.