H.R. 207: SHARKED Act of 2025
Sponsor
Robert Wittman
Republican · VA-1
Bill Progress
Latest Action · Jan 22, 2025
Passed the House, received in Senate
Sharks keep stealing anglers' catch. Congress steps in.
Why it matters
You hook a fish, fight it toward the boat, and a shark takes it before you can land it. It's called shark depredation, and anglers along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts say it's happening more often. H.R. 207 orders the Commerce Department to stand up a federal task force to figure out why and what to do about it, with a first report to Congress due within two years. The bill cleared the House by voice vote and now sits in the Senate.
H.R. 207, the SHARKED Act of 2025, is a study-and-coordinate bill, not a crackdown. It doesn't order shark removals, open new fisheries, or touch a single conservation rule. What it does is tell the Commerce Department to stand up a task force on shark depredation — the moment a shark grabs your fish off the line before you can land it.
The task force pulls together the people who manage fishing and the people who study sharks: regional fishery councils, marine fisheries commissions, coastal state wildlife agencies, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and shark researchers. Their job is to get those two worlds talking, pin down the biggest open questions, and recommend practical fixes. Part of that is education, helping anglers shift tactics and expectations so they trigger fewer shark encounters in the first place.
Research is the engine. The bill folds shark depredation into an existing federal fisheries research program so current funding can back it. It points scientists at specific questions: which shark species are doing this, whether some sharks are learning to follow boats for an easy meal, how fishing rules and angler habits play in, what non-lethal deterrents actually work, and how a warming ocean is shifting where sharks go.
The bill walks a line between two goals that can pull against each other: protecting your fishing and protecting sharks. It says plainly that nothing in it changes the government's existing duties under wildlife and fishery law. So the real near-term payoff is better data, tighter coordination, and policy recommendations down the road, not new rules on the water tomorrow.
H.R. 207 Bill Summary
What H.R. 207 actually does.
A federal task force on stolen catch
Directs the Commerce Department to set up a task force focused squarely on shark depredation — sharks taking hooked or caught fish off the line before anglers can land them.
Fishermen and shark scientists at the same table
Puts representatives from the regional fishery councils, marine fisheries commissions, coastal state wildlife agencies, and the National Marine Fisheries Service in the room alongside researchers who study shark management, behavior, ecology, and highly migratory species.
A research to-do list
Tasks the group with naming the key research needs: which shark species are involved, how shark populations are changing, whether sharks are getting habituated to people, and how angler behavior and fishing rules factor in.
Non-lethal deterrents and angler education
Calls for work on techniques to reduce harmful shark-human run-ins, including non-lethal deterrents, plus educational materials that help anglers avoid drawing sharks in.
Shark depredation gets a research funding lane
Adds shark depredation to an existing Magnuson-Stevens research program, so federal fishery research money can fund projects digging into what's driving it and how to address it.
Reports to Congress, then it shuts down
Requires a report to Congress within two years and every two years after, and automatically dissolves the task force within seven years of its launch.
Who benefits from H.R. 207?
Recreational anglers
The weekend fisherman tired of reeling in half a snapper. Better data and shared best practices could mean fewer sharks beating you to the catch.
Charter captains and commercial operators
Lost catch, chewed-up gear, and frustrated clients all cost money. Research aimed at cutting depredation lands on their bottom line.
Marine scientists and research institutions
The bill creates clear federal demand, and a funding lane, for shark depredation research that has been hard to bankroll.
Coastal fishery managers and state agencies
A formal table to compare notes across regions and hand the fishing public consistent guidance instead of one-off answers.
Who is affected by H.R. 207?
National Marine Fisheries Service
Would help run the task force and likely coordinate the research, education, and management recommendations that come out of it.
Regional Fishery Management Councils
Each of the eight councils gets a seat and would be expected to bring local expertise on how depredation hits their waters.
Coastal states and U.S. territories
Their fish and wildlife agencies would join the task force and may need to coordinate more closely with federal managers and neighboring regions.
Shark conservation stakeholders
They have a stake in where future management talk heads, though the bill leaves existing federal conservation authority untouched.
HR207 Legislative Journey
Committee Action
Jan 22, 2025
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
House: Vote: 240-241
Jan 21, 2025
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H240-241)
House: Committee Action
Jan 3, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
About the Sponsor
Robert Wittman
Republican, Virginia's 1st congressional district · 19 years in Congress
Committees: Natural Resources, House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, Armed Services
View full profile →
Cosponsors (4)
This bill has 4 cosponsors: 2 Democrats, 2 Republicans, reflecting bipartisan support. Cosponsors represent 2 states: Florida, Texas.
Committee Sponsors
Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
0 of 28 committee members cosponsored
No committee members have cosponsored this bill
Natural Resources Committee
2 of 45 committee members cosponsored
39 Republicans across these committees haven't cosponsored yet. Mobilize their constituents
What laws does H.R. 207 change?
1 changes
Sections Amended
Section 318(c) of Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1867(c))
adding at the end the following: ``(6) Projects to better understand shark depredation, including identifying what causes increases in shark depredation and determining how to best address shark depredation
H.R. 207 Quick Facts
- Committee
- Commerce, Science, and Transportation
- Chamber
- House
- Policy
- Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Introduced
- Jan 3, 2025
Passed the House, received in Senate
Jan 22, 2025
Official Sources
Official bill page with full text, actions, cosponsors, and committee referrals for the SHARKED Act of 2025.
NOAA's overview of shark depredation as a fisheries management challenge, including cooperative research studies in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.
The primary federal law governing marine fisheries management, which this bill amends to add shark depredation research to the cooperative research program.
The eight regional councils whose representatives would serve on the shark depredation task force created by this bill.
The existing NOAA research program (Magnuson-Stevens Section 318) that this bill expands to include shark depredation projects.
The bill explicitly preserves the Secretary of Commerce's authority under the ESA, ensuring shark conservation protections remain intact.
Overview of NOAA's investment in shark research, including over $7 million in grants since 2018 for shark-focused scientific projects.
The specific U.S. Code section this bill amends to add shark depredation to the list of eligible cooperative research projects.
H.R. 207 Common Questions
What is shark depredation?
It's when a shark grabs a fish off your line before you can reel it in, taking part or all of your hooked catch. Anglers along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts report it happening more often, which is what H.R. 207 sets out to study.
What would the SHARKED Act actually do?
It tells the Commerce Department to build a task force that brings fishery managers and shark scientists together, sets research priorities, and recommends ways to cut down on depredation. It also opens an existing federal research fund to shark depredation projects.
Does the SHARKED Act weaken protections for sharks?
No. The bill says plainly that nothing in it changes the government's existing duties under the Endangered Species Act or federal fisheries law. It's aimed at research and coordination, not rolling back shark conservation.
Does the SHARKED Act pay for shark depredation research?
It doesn't add new money, but it folds shark depredation into an existing Magnuson-Stevens research program so current fishery research funds can support those projects. Actual spending still depends on appropriations.
What questions would the task force research?
Which shark species are involved, whether sharks are learning to follow boats for an easy meal, how angler behavior and fishing rules play in, what non-lethal deterrents work, sharks' role in the food web, and how climate change is shifting where they go.
How long would the shark depredation task force last?
It would shut down automatically within seven years of being set up. Along the way it has to report its findings to Congress within the first two years and every two years after that.
Who would sit on the task force?
Representatives from each regional fishery council, the marine fisheries commissions, coastal state wildlife agencies, and the National Marine Fisheries Service, plus researchers who specialize in shark behavior, ecology, and highly migratory species.
Based on H.R. 207 bill text
H.R. 207 Bill Text
“To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a task force regarding shark depredation, and for other purposes.”
Source: U.S. Government Publishing Office
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