H.R. 7350 — Fishing Vessel Financing Improvement Act of 2026

This section revises the Fishing Vessel Obligation Guarantee Program under 46 U.S.C. Chapter 537, which authorizes the Secretary of Commerce (or NOAA Administrator) to guarantee loans for the purchase, construction, reconstruction, or refinancing of fishing vessels and fishery facilities to support the commercial fishing industry. (As background, the program promotes fisheries development by reducing financing costs for vessel owners and operators.) It (1) incorporates the definition of "fishing" from the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1802); (2) limits guaranteed obligations and direct loans primarily to used fishing vessels and fishery facilities (previously fishing vessels generally); (3) expands eligible purposes to activities in the fishing industry or seafood related trade; (4) increases the maximum principal amount guaranteed for a fishing vessel to 87.5% of actual or depreciated cost; (5) requires guarantees to be consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act; (6) expands vessel replacement guarantees to fishing or seafood related trade but limits them to funds appropriated on or after enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026; (7) provides eligibility for two years after enactment for loan guarantees on fishing vessels greater than 79 feet in overall length that were built and documented after January 1, 2021, notwithstanding reconstruction requirements; and (8) includes a savings clause preserving separate direct loan authority under the American Fisheries Act (P.L. 105-277).