# H.R. 1917 (119th): Great Lakes Mass Marking Program Act of 2025

Great Lakes Mass Marking Program Act of 2025 This bill provides statutory authority for a program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for the mass marking of hatchery-produced fish in the Great Lakes basin. Mass marking is the practice of tagging large numbers of hatchery-produced fish in order to distinguish them from the wild fish population. The FWS initiated the program in 2010 on a limited scale. Under the existing program, the FWS (1) tags hatchery-produced fish stocked in the Great Lakes, and (2) produces data used by state and tribal fish management agencies to make management decisions regarding Great Lakes fisheries. This bill allows the FWS, in carrying out the program, to (1) purchase items to support and carry out tagging and tag recovery operations on a greater scale, and (2) hire additional personnel. The FWS must make the data collected under the program available to applicable federal, state, and tribal fish management agencies to increase the understanding of the outcomes of management action; assist in meeting the restoration objectives of the Great Lakes; assist in balancing predators and prey; support and improve the economic status of tribal, recreational, and commercial fisheries; and assist in evaluating the effectiveness of habitat restoration efforts in the Great Lakes.

## How this bill is scored

Tier: no Tier 1 record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Lane: environment. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: fisheries. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: regulation. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: tribal_fisheries. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: wildlife_management. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Tier 1 sign-off: no record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Stored polarity: mixed. Only tags the rules mark scoreable on a mixed bill are scored. A yea can draw a penalty or a credit according to the tag. A nay on a tag scored as good can draw a penalty.
Roll 216: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended. Vote type: final_passage.
Polarity rationale: Reviewed enrichment (llm_import) polarity: This is an ordinary administrative program authorization for fisheries management. It pursues prudential goods such as sound stewardship, data-informed management, and support for recreational, commercial, and tribal fisheries. It does not directly restrain or advance a named moral evil, so it fits the generic regulatory category of mixed/prudential rather than a hard moral verdict.
Theological note: Stewardship of creation and faithful, honest management of shared resources are relevant here, since the bill concerns the care of Great Lakes fisheries for the benefit of communities that depend on them. The measure does not address a direct moral harm or a question of justice, so its relevance is primarily prudential stewardship.

## Recorded votes

Roll 216: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended. Yea 360 · Nay 57 · Other 13.

HTML: https://justmeasure.org/bill/hr-1917-119/