Bill > HR4800

This bill amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to expand the types of events that can qualify for fishery resource disaster relief, specifically adding "infrastructure-related causes" as a new category of potential disaster. The bill defines an infrastructure-related cause as an event triggered by the operation or failure of federal or state infrastructure like flood control systems, spillways, levees, and diversions that results in measurable disruption to commercial or subsistence fishery activity, aquatic habitat, or water quality. Of particular focus are the red swamp crawfish and white river crawfish fisheries, for which the bill requires additional documentation about environmental conditions such as hydrological changes, water quality degradation, extreme flooding or drought, and other environmental disruptions that could impact fishery viability. The bill explicitly states that these new provisions do not reduce or limit existing disaster relief eligibility for marine or anadromous fisheries, essentially expanding rather than replacing current disaster relief mechanisms. By broadening the definition of what constitutes a fishery disaster, the bill aims to provide more comprehensive support for fisheries affected by infrastructure-related events.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4800/all-info