II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1331 

To establish the Great Lakes Mass Marking Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 8, 2017 

Ms. STABENOW (for herself, Mr. PETERS, and Mr. BROWN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To establish the Great Lakes Mass Marking Program, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Great Lakes Mass 

5 Marking Program Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the Great Lakes have experienced rapid 

9 changes in recent years due to— 


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1 (A) the introduction of multiple aquatic 

2 invasive species; 

3 (B) alterations in the food web; and 

4 (C) decreases in the abundance of prey 

5 species; 

6 (2) due to rapid biological change in the Great 

7 Lakes, the Great Lakes need a collaborative, science8 based program to assist in making management ac9 tions regarding fish stocking rates, the rehabilitation 

10 of important fish species, and habitat restoration; 

11 (3) the States of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, 

12 Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Wis13 consin and Indian tribes in those States, working 

14 through the Council of Lake Committees of the 

15 Great Lakes Fishery Commission, have identified 

16 that mass marking is— 

17 (A) a precise tool to keep hatchery-pro18 duced fish in balance with wild fish; and 

19 (B) essential to achieving fishery manage20 ment and research objectives through producing 

21 a better understanding of— 

22 (i) the quantity of hatchery produced 

23 fish compared to wild fish in the Great 

24 Lakes; 


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1 (ii) the effectiveness of hatchery oper2 ations; and 

3 (iii) the effectiveness of fishery man4 agement actions; 

5 (4) the mass marking program of the United 

6 States Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great 

7 Lakes— 

8 (A) was initiated in 2010 on a limited 

9 scale; 

10 (B) annually tags approximately 8,000,000 

11 of the hatchery-produced fish stocked in the 

12 Great Lakes; 

13 (C) is a basinwide cooperative effort 

14 among the United States Fish and Wildlife 

15 Service, Indian tribes, and State management 

16 agencies; and 

17 (D) produces data used by State and tribal 

18 fish management agencies to make management 

19 decisions regarding Great Lakes fisheries; 

20 (5) annually, Federal, State, and tribal agencies 

21 stock approximately 21,000,000 hatchery-produced 

22 fish in the Great Lakes to support— 

23 (A) native species recovery; and 

24 (B) recreational and commercial fishing; 


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1 (6) mass marking of hatchery-produced fish, 

2 using automated technology, is an efficient method 

3 of implementing a collaborative, science-based fish4 ery program; and 

5 (7) the Great Lakes are an important and val6 ued resource that— 

7 (A) supports a robust regional economy 

8 valued at more than $7,000,000,000; and 

9 (B) provides stability to the economy of 

10 the United States. 

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

13 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

14 the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

15 Service. 

16 (2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

17 the Great Lakes Mass Marking Program established 

18 by section 4(a). 

19 SEC. 4. GREAT LAKES MASS MARKING PROGRAM. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—To assist in determining the effec21 tiveness of hatchery operations and fisheries management 

22 actions and to support Great Lakes fisheries, there is es23 tablished within the United States Fish and Wildlife Serv24 ice a program for the mass marking of hatchery-produced 


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1 fish in the Great Lakes basin, to be known as the ‘‘Great 

2 Lakes Mass Marking Program’’. 

3 (b) REQUIRED COLLABORATION.—In carrying out 

4 the Program, the Director shall collaborate with applicable 

5 Federal, State, and tribal fish management agencies, the 

6 Council of Lake Committees of the Great Lakes Fishery 

7 Commission, and signatories to the Joint Strategic Plan 

8 for Management of Great Lakes Fisheries. 

9 (c) AVAILABILITY OF DATA.—The Director shall 

10 make the data collected under the Program available to 

11 applicable Federal, State, and tribal fish management 

12 agencies— 

13 (1) to increase the understanding of the out14 comes of management action; 

15 (2) to assist in meeting the restoration objec16 tives of the Great Lakes, including the fish commu17 nity objectives and fish management plans described 

18 in the Joint Strategic Plan for Management of 

19 Great Lakes Fisheries; 

20 (3) to assist in balancing predators and prey; 

21 (4) to support and improve the economic status 

22 of tribal, recreational, and commercial fisheries; and 

23 (5) to assist in evaluating the effectiveness of 

24 habitat restoration efforts in the Great Lakes. 


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1 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

3 the Program $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 

4 through 2022. 

Æ 


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