Florida Safe Seas Act of 2025
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The bill would extend an existing federal ban on shark feeding to waters off Florida's coast, making it unlawful to lure sharks with food or other substances in the federal exclusive economic zone there except for approved research or when there is no safety risk.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would amend Section 317 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which currently bans shark feeding in the exclusive economic zone off Hawaii, to add Florida's exclusive economic zone waters to that prohibition. It would make it unlawful to introduce food or other substances into these waters to attract sharks for any purpose other than harvesting them.
The ban would not apply to federally funded shark research programs, or to feeding activities that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or state law determines pose no public health hazard or safety risk. The bill does not change rules for shark feeding in Florida's state waters, which are closer to shore than the federal zone it covers.
Key provisions
- 1Would add Florida to the list of states (alongside Hawaii) covered by the federal exclusive economic zone shark-feeding prohibition.
- 2Would make it unlawful to introduce food or other substances to attract sharks in these waters for any purpose other than harvesting sharks.
- 3Would exempt shark feeding conducted under federally funded research programs.
- 4Would exempt feeding activities determined by NOAA or state law to pose no public health hazard or safety risk.
Who would be affected
Charter boat operators, dive tour companies, and recreational anglers who conduct shark-feeding or chumming activities in federal waters off Florida, as well as researchers who study sharks and rely on the funded-research exception.
Why it matters
Operators who currently attract sharks with bait for tourism or other non-harvest purposes in Florida's federal waters would need to stop or qualify for an exception, while the exceptions preserve room for legitimate scientific research and activities regulators judge to be safe.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, 16 U.S.C. § 1866 (Sec. 317) (Sec. 2)
Extends the existing Hawaii shark-feeding ban in the exclusive economic zone to also cover Florida's exclusive economic zone waters.
Agencies directed to act
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates that H.R. 3831 would have no significant effect on the federal budget, with any changes in direct spending, revenues, and the deficit all falling between -$500,000 and $500,000 over the 2026–2036 period.
CBO estimates that any increases in penalty revenues (civil and criminal fines for shark feeding violations) and associated spending from the Crime Victims Fund would be insignificant over the 2026–2036 period, given the small number of expected violations. No discretionary spending is projected. The bill contains a private-sector mandate under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act — prohibiting shark feeding in the Exclusive Economic Zone off Florida's coast primarily affects tourism operators — but CBO estimates the cost of that mandate would not exceed UMRA's annual private-sector threshold ($214 million in 2026, adjusted for inflation). The bill contains no intergovernmental mandates.
How implementation would work
The change amends existing statutory text in the Magnuson-Stevens Act, so it would take effect through normal enforcement of that law by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Marine Fisheries Service rather than new rulemaking. NOAA would determine, on a case-by-case or state-law basis, whether a given shark-feeding activity presents no public health or safety risk and therefore qualifies for the exception.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Official CRS summary
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This bill prohibits shark feeding in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) seaward of Florida for any purpose other than to harvest sharks, subject to limited exceptions. (Florida state waters generally extend 3 miles from the shore in the Atlantic Ocean and 9 miles from the shore in the Gulf of America. The EEZ is seaward of and adjacent to state waters and generally extends to 200 miles from the U.S. coastline.)
Specifically, the bill makes it unlawful to introduce, or attempt to introduce, food or any other substance into these waters to attract sharks for any purpose other than to harvest sharks. Exceptions allow shark feeding (1) for research programs funded by federal appropriations, or (2) to the extent that the feeding presents no public health hazard or safety risk (as determined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or under state law).
Legislative subjects
Fishes; Florida; Marine and coastal resources, fisheries; Public Lands and Natural Resources
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-658