II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3484 

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

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 13, 2023 

Ms. STABENOW (for herself, Mr. BROWN, and Mr. PETERS) 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— 

2 

•S 3484 IS

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; 

3 

•S 3484 IS

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 9,000,000 

11 to 11,000,000 of the hatchery-produced fish 

12 stocked in the 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 Trib18 al fish management agencies to make manage19 ment decisions regarding Great Lakes fisheries; 

20 (5) annually, Federal, State, and Tribal agen21 cies stock approximately 21,000,000 hatchery-pro22 duced fish in the Great Lakes to support— 

23 (A) native species recovery; and 

24 (B) recreational and commercial fishing; 

4 

•S 3484 IS

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 

5 

•S 3484 IS

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

2 Lakes Mass Marking Program’’. 

3 (b) AUTHORIZED ACTIONS.—In carrying out the Pro4 gram, the Director may— 

5 (1) purchase capital and expendable equipment, 

6 fish tags, and other items necessary to support and 

7 carry out tagging and tag recovery operations, in8 cluding data processing and data dissemination re9 lating to those operations; and 

10 (2) hire additional personnel, as necessary. 

11 (c) REQUIRED COLLABORATION.—In carrying out 

12 the Program, the Director shall collaborate with applicable 

13 Federal, State, and Tribal fish management agencies, the 

14 Council of Lake Committees of the Great Lakes Fishery 

15 Commission, and signatories to the Joint Strategic Plan 

16 for Management of Great Lakes Fisheries. 

17 (d) AVAILABILITY OF DATA.—The Director shall 

18 make the data collected under the Program available to 

19 applicable Federal, State, and Tribal fish management 

20 agencies— 

21 (1) to increase the understanding of the out22 comes of management action; 

23 (2) to assist in meeting the restoration objec24 tives of the Great Lakes, including the fish commu25 nity objectives and fish management plans described 

6 

•S 3484 IS

1 in the Joint Strategic Plan for Management of 

2 Great Lakes Fisheries; 

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

4 (4) to support and improve the economic status 

5 of Tribal, recreational, and commercial fisheries; and 

6 (5) to assist in evaluating the effectiveness of 

7 habitat restoration efforts in the Great Lakes. 

8 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

10 the Program $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 

11 through 2029. 

Æ