Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mitigation Action and 
Watermen Support Act of 2026’’ or the ‘‘MAWS Act of 
2026’’. 
SEC. 2. BLUE CATFISH PILOT PROGRAM. 
Section 307 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration Authorization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 
1511d) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection 
(f); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(e) BLUE CATFISH PILOT PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, utilizing and 
coordinating with applicable programs and activities 
described in subsection (b)(3), shall carry out a pilot 
program to enter into cooperative agreements with 
covered entities for such covered entities to purchase, 
in accordance with paragraph (3)— 
‘‘(A) from watermen, blue catfish caught 
within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed by such 
watermen; and 
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‘‘(B) from seafood processors, such blue cat-
fish purchased by seafood processors from such 
watermen. 
‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to enter into 
a cooperative agreement under the pilot program, a 
covered entity shall submit to the Secretary an appli-
cation in such form, at such time, and containing 
such information as the Secretary determines appro-
priate. 
‘‘(3) USE OF AMOUNTS.—A covered entity that 
enters into a cooperative agreement under the pilot 
program— 
‘‘(A) shall use any amounts awarded under 
such cooperative agreement to purchase blue cat-
fish from watermen or seafood processors for at 
least the amount determined by the Secretary 
under paragraph (5); and 
‘‘(B) may use not more than 15 percent of 
such amounts to offset the cost to transport such 
blue catfish to manufacturing or processing fa-
cilities. 
‘‘(4) WATERMAN AND SEAFOOD PROCESSOR ELI-
GIBILITY.—To be eligible to sell a blue catfish under 
the pilot program to a covered entity that enters into 
a cooperative agreement under the pilot program— 
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‘‘(A) a waterman shall certify to such cov-
ered entity that the waterman caught the blue 
catfish within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed; 
and 
‘‘(B) a seafood processor shall certify to 
such covered entity that the seafood processor 
purchased the blue catfish from a waterman who 
caught the blue catfish within the Chesapeake 
Bay Watershed. 
‘‘(5) DETERMINATION
OF
MINIMUM
PURCHASE 
AMOUNT.—With respect to blue catfish sold by 
watermen or seafood processors under the pilot pro-
gram, the Secretary shall determine the minimum 
price per pound, taking into consideration— 
‘‘(A) market factors; 
‘‘(B) feedback from watermen, seafood proc-
essors, and covered entities that participate in 
the pilot program, if available; and 
‘‘(C) differentiation of price points for fillet 
and byproduct. 
‘‘(6) ABUNDANCE BASELINE.— 
‘‘(A) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.— 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the en-
actment of this subsection, the Secretary shall 
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seek to enter into a memorandum of under-
standing with eligible non-Federal partners— 
‘‘(i) to compile existing non-Federal 
data necessary for the Secretary— 
‘‘(I) to develop under subpara-
graph (B) an estimate of the abun-
dance of blue catfish in the Chesapeake 
Bay Watershed; and 
‘‘(II) to provide the information 
described 
in 
subparagraphs 
(A) 
through (D) of paragraph (7) in the 
report required under that paragraph; 
and 
‘‘(ii) to adjust the collection by such el-
igible non-Federal partners of relevant data 
such that such data can be used as described 
in subclauses (I) and (II) of clause (i). 
‘‘(B) ABUNDANCE
ESTIMATES.—Not later 
than September 30, 2027, and annually there-
after through fiscal year 2032, the Secretary 
shall develop, pursuant to the memorandum of 
understanding described in subparagraph (A), 
and make publicly available on the website of the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-
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tion an estimate of the abundance of blue catfish 
in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. 
‘‘(7) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date on which the pilot program terminates in ac-
cordance with paragraph (9), the Secretary shall sub-
mit to Congress a report regarding the pilot program, 
including the following information: 
‘‘(A) A summary of available information 
regarding the size and spawning stock biomass of 
the blue catfish population in the Chesapeake 
Bay Watershed prior to and at the conclusion of 
the pilot program, using the most recent data 
available. 
‘‘(B) A summary of available data regard-
ing the size distribution and diet of the blue cat-
fish population in the Chesapeake Bay Water-
shed during and at the conclusion of the pilot 
program. 
‘‘(C) The number of blue catfish and the 
amount of blue catfish (measured in pounds) 
caught by watermen who participate in the pilot 
program during the pilot program. 
‘‘(D) The effects of the pilot program on 
species other than the blue catfish in and the en-
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vironment of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, to 
the extent known. 
‘‘(E) The economic effect of the pilot pro-
gram on watermen who participate in the pilot 
program, including— 
‘‘(i) the revenue generated by each such 
waterman by selling blue catfish under the 
pilot program; and 
‘‘(ii) catch data with respect to and 
revenue generated from other species fished 
by such watermen during the pilot pro-
gram. 
‘‘(F) The market response to the pilot pro-
gram, including— 
‘‘(i) the total amount awarded under 
the pilot program to covered entities that 
enter into cooperative agreements under the 
pilot program; and 
‘‘(ii) trends in the types of such covered 
entities. 
‘‘(G) With respect to the manufacturing or 
processing practices of each covered entity that 
enters into a cooperative agreement under the 
pilot program, information regarding whether 
each such covered entity— 
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‘‘(i) uses internal or third-party man-
ufacturers or processors; 
‘‘(ii) uses, for each type of food product 
produced by the covered entity, whole fish, 
fillet, or byproduct; and 
‘‘(iii) if the covered entity uses only 
part of the fish, sells the remainder to third 
parties. 
‘‘(H) How each covered entity that enters 
into a cooperative agreement under the pilot pro-
gram transports blue catfish purchased by the 
covered entity, including— 
‘‘(i) whether the covered entity freezes 
such blue catfish; 
‘‘(ii) how often the covered entity picks 
up such blue catfish; and 
‘‘(iii) whether the covered entity uses a 
seafood transport company that is local to 
the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. 
‘‘(I) Policy recommendations regarding— 
‘‘(i) the continuation of the pilot pro-
gram in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed; 
and 
‘‘(ii) the expansion of the pilot pro-
gram to other watersheds, including— 
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‘‘(I) best practices; 
‘‘(II) specific recommendations re-
garding invasive species of carp in the 
Mississippi rivershed; 
‘‘(III) 
with 
respect 
to 
other 
invasive aquatic species and water-
sheds that may benefit from the pilot 
program; and 
‘‘(IV) other strategies with respect 
to the mitigation of aquatic invasive 
species for Congress to consider pilot-
ing. 
‘‘(J) Additional data necessary for Congress 
to shape related policy, including— 
‘‘(i) data— 
‘‘(I) the Secretary was unable to 
collect; or 
‘‘(II) is not collected by eligible 
non-Federal partners; and 
‘‘(ii) recommendations for congres-
sional action to support the collection of rel-
evant data sets. 
‘‘(8) BRIEFINGS.—Not later than 90 days after 
the date of the enactment of this subsection and quar-
terly thereafter until the date on which the pilot pro-
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gram terminates in accordance with paragraph (9), 
the Secretary shall provide to the Committee on Nat-
ural Resources of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor-
tation of the Senate briefings on the status of the im-
plementation of this subsection. 
‘‘(9) DURATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
carry out the pilot program during the 2-year 
period that begins on the first day of the fiscal 
year immediately following the later of the fiscal 
year in which the Secretary— 
‘‘(i) first makes publicly available the 
first abundance estimate under paragraph 
(6); and 
‘‘(ii) issues guidance under subpara-
graph (B). 
‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of the enactment of this subsection, 
the Secretary, in consultation with the Chesa-
peake Bay Program Invasive Catfish Workgroup 
and the heads of relevant Federal agencies with 
experience administering similar programs, shall 
issue guidance for the pilot program. 
‘‘(10) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
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‘‘(A) ANIMAL
FEED.—The term ‘animal 
feed’— 
‘‘(i) means an article that is intended 
for use— 
‘‘(I) for food for an animal other 
than man; and 
‘‘(II) as a substantial source of 
nutrients in the diet of such an ani-
mal; and 
‘‘(ii) is not limited to a mixture in-
tended to be the sole ration of such an ani-
mal. 
‘‘(B) 
AQUACULTURE
FEED.—The 
term 
‘aquaculture feed’— 
‘‘(i) means an article that is intended 
for use— 
‘‘(I) for food for an aquacultural 
species, 
including 
any 
species 
of 
finfish, mollusk, crustacean (or other 
aquatic invertebrate), amphibian, rep-
tile, ornamental fish, or aquatic plant 
that is propagated and reared in a 
controlled or selected environment; and 
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‘‘(II) as a substantial source of 
nutrients in the diet of such an 
aquacultural species; and 
‘‘(ii) is not limited to a mixture in-
tended to be the sole ration of such an 
aquacultural species. 
‘‘(C) BLUE CATFISH.—The term ‘blue cat-
fish’ means the species Ictalurus furcatus. 
‘‘(D) CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED.—The 
term ‘Chesapeake Bay Watershed’ means the re-
gion that covers— 
‘‘(i) the Chesapeake Bay; 
‘‘(ii) the portions of the States of Dela-
ware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, 
Virginia, and West Virginia that drain into 
the Chesapeake Bay; and 
‘‘(iii) the District of Columbia. 
‘‘(E) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘covered 
entity’ means a person engaged in the business 
of manufacturing or processing— 
‘‘(i) pet food; 
‘‘(ii) animal feed; or 
‘‘(iii) aquaculture feed. 
‘‘(F) ELIGIBLE NON-FEDERAL PARTNER.— 
The term ‘eligible non-Federal partner’ means— 
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‘‘(i) Maryland; 
‘‘(ii) Virginia; and 
‘‘(iii) research institutions, including 
research institutions with expertise in— 
‘‘(I) blue catfish research in the 
Chesapeake Bay Watershed; or 
‘‘(II) acting in coordination with 
the Invasive Catfish Workgroup of the 
Chesapeake Bay Program. 
‘‘(G) PILOT
PROGRAM.—The term ‘pilot 
program’ means the pilot program established 
under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(H) SEAFOOD
PROCESSOR.—The term 
‘seafood processor’ means a person engaged in 
the business of preparing or packaging fish or 
fish products (including fish harvested by the 
processor) for sale. 
‘‘(I) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 
means the Secretary of Commerce, acting 
through the Administrator of the National Oce-
anic and Atmospheric Administration.’’. 
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