Great Lakes Mass Marking Program Act of 2025

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1917) to establish the Great Lakes Mass Marking Program, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1917, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1917, the Great Lakes Mass Marking Program Act of 2025, sponsored by my colleague from Michigan (Mrs. Dingell).

According to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, the Tribal, commercial, and recreational fisheries in the five Great Lakes are home to 177 species of fish, including 139 native species.

These Tribal, commercial, and recreational fisheries have an annual economic value exceeding $7 billion and support over 75,000 jobs.

One of the greatest challenges facing the Great Lakes is the threat of invasive species, such as the sea lamprey and Asian carp. To counter these invasive species, Tribal, Federal, and State agencies introduce hatchery-raised fish to encourage the recovery of native species. For example, in 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 10 hatcheries that support the Great Lakes region introduced more than 4.7 million hatchery fish into the five Great Lakes.

To gather data on the success of hatchery fish, wildlife managers tag large numbers of these fish through a practice known as mass marking. This practice enables them to easily distinguish between hatchery fish and wild fish populations.

In addition to tagging hatchery fish, this program also plays a vital role in aiding cooperative fisheries management decisions with States and Tribes by producing data on the health of the fishery.

The Great Lakes Mass Marking Program Act was administratively established in 2010 and continues to receive appropriations despite never being authorized by Congress. H.R. 1917 would provide formal congressional authorization for this existing program, thereby increasing the opportunity for congressional oversight over the program. Importantly, by providing a statutory authorization, it would better enable the Committee on Natural Resources to make substantive changes to how the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service administers the program, should changes be necessary.

Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg).

Mr. Speaker, the Great Lakes are both an ecological and economic engine for our Nation. It is our duty as Members of Congress to safeguard them for future generations, and H.R. 1917 is a step forward in that process.

I thank Representatives Dingell, Walberg, and Huizenga for their efforts on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, once again, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for considering my important legislation, the Great Lakes Mass Marking Program Act, today.

I thank my friends, Representatives Huizenga and Walberg, for their bipartisan support and partnership on this bill. I also thank Chairman Westerman and Ranking Member Huffman for their support.

Mr. Speaker, the Great Lakes States and Tribes, along with the Fish and Wildlife Service, annually stock millions of salmon and trout to restore native fish populations, diversify sport fisheries, and control invasive forage fishes within the Great Lakes. However, little is known about how well these fish survive, contribute to the fisheries, and reproduce in the wild. This is where mass marking comes into play.

Mass marking is the practice of tagging large numbers of hatchery- raised fish so we can easily distinguish them from the wild fish population.

The planned method within the Great Lakes is to clip the adipose fin, the small fin on the dorsal side near the tail, combined with a coded wire tag, or CWT. A CWT is a 1.1 millimeter-long, tiny stainless steel wire marked with serial numbers denoting a specific group of fish.

This tag can be extracted after recapture, which will provide biologists with key population characteristics, such as survival, movement, contribution to fisheries, growth, and their levels of natural reproduction.

This legislation would enable the Fish and Wildlife Service to mark all hatchery-produced fish within the Great Lakes. Currently, we tag only around 9 to 11 million of the 21 million fish stocked in the Great Lakes each year.

Marking all hatchery fish will drastically improve data collection, enabling better analysis of the health of wild fish stocks. This information will provide valuable insights to help develop a science- based, collaborative fishery management program. This legislation also ensures that the collected data will be shared with all relevant fishery management agencies.

We have seen the effectiveness of these types of programs in the Pacific Northwest for salmon and steelhead management. With the Great Lakes fishing economy, which is valued at about $5.5 billion, it is time we invest in this proven data-driven approach that would significantly enhance the sustainability and effectiveness of hatchery operations and fisheries management.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues again for considering this important legislation today, and I encourage my colleagues to support its final passage. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I will note that I have no further requests for time. I thank my colleague from Michigan (Mr. Tiffany) for supporting this bill.

I invite all of my colleagues to join me fishing on the Great Lakes. It might be good therapy for this institution.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, to Michiganders, the Great Lakes are more than just a natural resource. They are a source of pride for our State, a cornerstone of our identity, and a home to our world-class fisheries.

From Lake Michigan to Lake Erie, generations of anglers have cast their lines into these great waters, and families like mine have taken their children and grandchildren to make their first catch, creating meaningful and lasting memories.

These fisheries are also a lifeline for our local economy. Taken together, the Great Lakes commercial, recreational, and Tribal fisheries generate over $7 billion annually and support over 75,000 jobs.

That is why I am proud to join Representatives Debbie Dingell and Bill Huizenga on the Great Lakes Mass Marking Program Act, which will build on the success of the Great Lakes Mass Marking Program to implement the large-scale marking of fish in all hatcheries.

In 2023, an angler from Sheboygan caught a 35-inch lake trout--I am jealous--which was marked as part of the program. Its coded tag revealed that the trout hatched in 1984 and was raised at the Iron River National Fish Hatchery before being stocked on Sheboygan Reef in 1985.

Data like this allows us to better understand migratory patterns and population changes. By expanding the program to all Great Lakes hatcheries, we can improve fishing practices, increase efficiencies, and save resources wherever possible.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the Great Lakes Mass Marking Program Act so that we can preserve our fisheries and be better stewards of this great national treasure.

Madam Speaker, I missed a series of votes today. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 215 and YEA on Roll Call No. 216.

Madam Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 215 and YEA on Roll Call No. 216.