IIB 

119TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 207 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 22, 2025 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

and Transportation 

AN ACT 

To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a task 

force regarding shark depredation, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Supporting the Health 

3 of Aquatic systems through Research Knowledge and En4 hanced Dialogue Act of 2025’’ or the ‘‘SHARKED Act 

5 of 2025’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SHARK DEPREDATION TASK FORCE AND RESEARCH 

7 PROJECTS. 

8 (a) SHARK DEPREDATION TASK FORCE.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce 

10 shall establish a task force (referred to in this sub11 section as the ‘‘task force’’) to identify and address 

12 critical needs with respect to shark depredation. 

13 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Secretary of Com14 merce shall appoint individuals to the task force, in15 cluding— 

16 (A) 1 representative from— 

17 (i) each Regional Fishery Manage18 ment Council established under section 

19 302(a)(1) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fish20 ery Conservation and Management Act (16 

21 U.S.C. 1852(a)(1)); 

22 (ii) each Marine Fisheries Commis23 sion, as such term is defined in section 3 

24 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con25 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

26 1802); 


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1 (iii) the fish and wildlife agency of a 

2 coastal State from each Regional Fishery 

3 Management Council established under 

4 section 302(a)(1) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

5 Fishery Conservation and Management Act 

6 (16 U.S.C. 1852(a)(1)); and 

7 (iv) the National Marine Fisheries 

8 Service; 

9 (B) an individual with expertise in the 

10 management of highly migratory species; 

11 (C) a researcher with expertise in shark 

12 management and behavior; and 

13 (D) a researcher with expertise in shark 

14 ecology. 

15 (3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The task force shall— 

16 (A) develop ways to improve coordination 

17 and communication across the fisheries man18 agement community and shark research com19 munity to address shark depredation; 

20 (B) identify research priorities and funding 

21 opportunities for such priorities, including— 

22 (i) identifying shark species involved 

23 in interactions; 

24 (ii) shark stock assessments; 


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1 (iii) how sharks become habituated to 

2 humans and thus lead to more interactions 

3 between sharks and humans; 

4 (iv) how angler behavior and fishery 

5 regulatory frameworks may influence shark 

6 interactions; 

7 (v) techniques and strategies to re8 duce harmful interactions between sharks 

9 and humans, including the development 

10 and use of non-lethal deterrents; 

11 (vi) the role of healthy shark popu12 lations in the ocean food web; and 

13 (vii) climate change impacts on shift14 ing shark populations, prey, and shark be15 havior; 

16 (C) develop recommended management 

17 strategies to address shark depredation; and 

18 (D) coordinate the development and dis19 tribution of educational materials to help the 

20 fishing community minimize shark interactions 

21 including through changed angler behavior and 

22 expectations. 

23 (4) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

24 date of the enactment of this section, and every 2 

25 years thereafter until the termination of the task 


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1 force in accordance with paragraph (5), the task 

2 force shall submit to Congress a report regarding 

3 the findings of the task force. 

4 (5) SUNSET.—The task force shall terminate 

5 not later than 7 years after the date on which the 

6 Secretary of Commerce establishes the task force. 

7 (6) COASTAL STATE DEFINED.—In this sub8 section, the term ‘‘coastal State’’— 

9 (A) means a State of the United States in, 

10 or bordering on, the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific 

11 Ocean, Arctic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, or Long 

12 Island Sound; and 

13 (B) includes Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is14 lands of the United States, Guam, the Com15 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 

16 and American Samoa. 

17 (b) SHARK DEPREDATION RESEARCH PROJECTS.— 

18 Section 318(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con19 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1867(c)) is 

20 amended by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(6) Projects to better understand shark depre22 dation, including identifying what causes increases 

23 in shark depredation and determining how to best 

24 address shark depredation.’’. 


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1 (c) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section shall be con2 strued to affect the authority and responsibility of the Sec3 retary of Commerce in carrying out the Endangered Spe4 cies Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1351 et seq.) or the Magnu5 son-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 

6 (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 

Passed the House of Representatives January 21, 

2025. 

Attest: KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, 

Clerk. 


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