I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4294 
To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a pilot program with 
respect to the sale of blue catfish caught within the Chesapeake Bay 
Watershed. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 7, 2025 
Ms. ELFRETH (for herself, Mr. WITTMAN, Mrs. KIGGANS of Virginia, and Mr. 
HOYER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a pilot 
program with respect to the sale of blue catfish caught 
within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. 
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 2025’’ or the ‘‘MAWS Act of 
2025’’. 
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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 sub-
section (f); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(e) BLUE CATFISH PILOT PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish a pilot program to award amounts to covered 
entities to purchase, in accordance with paragraph 
(3)— 
‘‘(A) from watermen, blue catfish caught 
within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed by such 
watermen; and 
‘‘(B) from seafood processors, such blue 
catfish purchased by seafood processors from 
such watermen. 
‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to be 
awarded amounts under the pilot program, a covered 
entity shall submit to the Secretary an application in 
such form, at such time, and containing such infor-
mation as the Secretary determines appropriate. 
‘‘(3) USE OF AMOUNTS.—A covered entity that 
is awarded amounts under the pilot program— 
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‘‘(A) shall use such amounts to purchase 
blue catfish from watermen or seafood proc-
essors 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 proc-
essing facilities. 
‘‘(4) WATERMAN
AND
SEAFOOD
PROCESSOR 
ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to sell a blue catfish 
under the pilot program to a covered entity that is 
awarded amounts under the pilot program— 
‘‘(A) a waterman shall certify to such a 
covered entity that the waterman caught the 
blue catfish within the Chesapeake Bay Water-
shed; and 
‘‘(B) a seafood processor shall certify to 
such a covered entity that the seafood processor 
purchased the blue catfish from a waterman 
who caught the blue catfish within the Chesa-
peake Bay Watershed. 
‘‘(5) DETERMINATION OF MINIMUM PURCHASE 
AMOUNT.—With respect to blue catfish sold by 
watermen or seafood processors under the pilot pro-
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gram, the Secretary shall determine the minimum 
price per pound, taking into consideration— 
‘‘(A) market factors; 
‘‘(B) feedback from watermen, seafood 
processors, and covered entities who participate 
in the pilot program, if available; and 
‘‘(C) differentiation of price points for fillet 
and byproduct. 
‘‘(6) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date on which the pilot program terminates in 
accordance with paragraph (7), the Secretary shall 
submit to Congress a report regarding the pilot pro-
gram, including the following information: 
‘‘(A) An estimate of 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) The size distribution and diet of the 
blue catfish population in the Chesapeake Bay 
Watershed during and at the conclusion of the 
pilot program. 
‘‘(C) The number of blue catfish and the 
amount of blue catfish (measured in pounds) 
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caught by watermen who participate in the pilot 
program during the pilot program. 
‘‘(D) The effect of the pilot program on 
species other than the blue catfish in and the 
environment of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. 
‘‘(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 
program. 
‘‘(F) The market response to the pilot pro-
gram, including— 
‘‘(i) the total amount awarded to cov-
ered entities under the pilot program; and 
‘‘(ii) trends in the types of covered en-
tities awarded amounts under the pilot 
program. 
‘‘(G) With respect to the manufacturing or 
processing practices of each covered entity that 
is awarded amounts under the pilot program, 
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‘‘(ii) the expansion of the pilot pro-
gram to other watersheds, including— 
‘‘(I) best practices; 
‘‘(II) specific recommendations 
regarding 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 re-
spect to the mitigation of aquatic 
invasive species for Congress to con-
sider piloting. 
‘‘(7) DURATION.—The Secretary shall carry out 
the pilot program from January 1, 2027 through 
December 31, 2029. 
‘‘(8) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
retary to carry out the pilot program $2,000,000 for 
each fiscal year for the duration of the pilot program 
in accordance with paragraph (7). 
‘‘(9) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) ANIMAL
FEED.—The term ‘animal 
feed’— 
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‘‘(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 
‘‘(II) as a substantial source of 
nutrients in the diet of such an 
aquacultural species; and 
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‘‘(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 region that covers— 
‘‘(i) the Chesapeake Bay; 
‘‘(ii) the portions of the States of 
Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsyl-
vania, Virginia, and West Virginia that 
drain into the Chesapeake Bay; and 
‘‘(iii) the District of Columbia. 
‘‘(E) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘cov-
ered entity’ means a person engaged in the 
business of manufacturing or processing— 
‘‘(i) pet food; 
‘‘(ii) animal feed; or 
‘‘(iii) aquaculture feed. 
‘‘(F) PILOT
PROGRAM.—The term ‘pilot 
program’ means the pilot program established 
under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(G) SEAFOOD
PROCESSOR.—The term 
‘seafood processor’ means a person engaged in 
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the business of preparing or packaging fish or 
fish products (including fish harvested by the 
processor) for sale. 
‘‘(H) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 
means the Secretary of Commerce, acting 
through the Administrator of the National 
Oceans and Atmospheric Administration.’’. 
Æ 
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