Bycatch Reduction and Research Act of 2026

This bill directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to rename and expand the Alaska Salmon Research Task Force and to fund research on Alaska salmon migration, genetic testing of salmon caught by accident, and how trawl fishing gear affects the sea floor in the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, and Gulf of Alaska. It requires NOAA to partner with others to build a flume tank for testing fishing gear and to set up a fund for grants to test new gear. It directs NOAA to speed up permits for electronic monitoring and new gear, hold public input sessions every 3 years, and post observer coverage rules online. It authorizes $4 million per year for 2027 through 2031 for a bycatch reduction program and creates a donation-based fund, run by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, to help fishermen buy or modify gear that reduces bycatch.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Nicholas J. Begich III Republican sponsor
• 0 cosponsors