The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee has advanced a bill reauthorizing the Young Fishermen's Development Act, legislation that supports workforce development and training for the nation’s next generation of fishers.
Passed in 2021, the Young Fishermen’s Development Act provides grants of up to USD 200,000 (EUR 169,938) annually through NOAA’s Sea Grant Program. Funding can be used to provide training, education, and other support to young fishers. The program has provided USD 2 million (EUR 1.7 million) in financial support to date.
“The challenges for new entrants into the fishing industry are considerable – from high costs to extremely limited waterfront and fishery resource access,” Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association Executive Director Linda Behnken said in a statement. “The YFDA provides a framework to better prepare for these hurdles, helping to foster a new generation of safe and successful fishermen.”
The original legislation only authorized the program for five years, meaning it’s set to expire in 2026. Earlier this year, U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation in both the House and Senate to reauthorize the program for another five years. The House Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries held a hearing on the bill 3 September, and on 17 September, the Committee on Natural Resources unanimously voted to advance the legislation.
In a release, the Fishing Communities Coalition (FCC) praised lawmakers on the committee for moving the bill one step closer to passage.
“The FCC has championed this legislation for more than a decade. Now that we are beginning to see what a catalyst it is for the fishing industry, we need to keep it going,” Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance Fisheries Policy Director Aubrey Church said in a statement. “We urge all members of Congress to support this bill, which will help ensure that our nation's rich fishing heritage and coastal economies can thrive for generations to come.”
Though the Trump administration has targeted NOAA grant funding and its Sea Grant in particular for cuts, backers of the legislation have expressed confidence that the president will back the reauthorization bill. U.S. President Donald Trump signed the initial bill into law in the final days of his first administration.
“Although the National Sea Grant College Program this bill would normally fall under did not make it into the president’s 2026 budget, the president and the administration have proven to be friends of the American fishermen with commonsense measures, such as the president’s executive order to reopen fishing around the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument,” U.S. Representative from American Samoa Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen said during the 3 September hearing.
Other groups to express support for the Young Fishermen’s Development Act reauthorization include the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, the Gulf of America Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance, the Alaska Marine Conservation Council, and the New England Young Fishermen’s Alliance.
“Investment in YFDA programs strengthens our nation's seafood supply chain and contributes to the health of coastal economies and fishing families,” New England Young Fishermen’s Alliance Executive Director Andrea Tomlinson said in a release. “Continued YFDA funding, coupled with expanded access to USDA grant opportunities supporting our organization and many like it, will be central to the success of local and national initiatives to support young fishermen’s financial and physical wellness. By fostering a trained commercial fishing workforce, we can achieve national goals to increase domestic seafood supply and consumption, thereby supporting local harvesters and benefiting the entire nation.”
