,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bhhj  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,september #ah 
7legislative day1 ,september #af71      
#bjbe,mr4 ,peters 7for himself and ,mr4 
,husted7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,environment and ,public 
,works  ,a ,,bill  ,to establish the    
,great ,lakes ,mass ,marking ,program1  
and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short     
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,great ,lakes ,mass ,marking ,program   
,act of #bjbe4  #b4 ,findings ,congress 
finds that-- 7#a7 the ,great ,lakes have
 experienced rapid changes in recent    
years due to-- 7,a7 the introduction of 
multiple aquatic invasive species2  7,b7
 alterations in the food web2 and  7,c7 
decreases in the abundance of prey      
species2  7#b7 due to rapid biological  
change in the ,great ,lakes1 the ,great 
,lakes need a collaborative1            
science-based program to assist in      
making management actions relating to   

fish stocking rates1 the rehabilitation 
of important fish species1 and habitat  
restoration2  7#c7 the ,states of       
,illinois1 ,indiana1 ,michigan1         
,minnesota1 ,ohio1 ,pennsylvania1 ,new  
,york1 and ,wisconsin and ,indian       
,tribes in those ,states1 working       
through the ,council of ,lake           
,committees of the ,great ,lakes        
,fishery ,commission1 have identified   
that mass marking is-- 7,a7 a precise   
tool to keep hatchery-produced fish in  
balance with wild fish2 and  7,b7       
essential to achieving fishery          
management and research objectives      
through producing a better understanding
 of-- 7i7 the quantity of               
hatchery-produced fish compared to wild 
fish in the ,great ,lakes2  7ii7 the    
effectiveness of hatchery operations2   
and  7iii7 the effectiveness of fishery 
management actions2  7#d7 the mass      
marking program of the ,united ,states  
,fish and ,wildlife ,service in the     
,great ,lakes-- 7,a7 was initiated in   

#bjaj on a limited scale2  7,b7 annually
 tags approximately #i1jjj1jjj to       
#aa1jjj1jjj of the hatchery-produced    
fish stocked in the ,great ,lakes2  7,c7
 is a basinwide cooperative effort among
 the ,united ,states ,fish and ,wildlife
 ,service1 ,indian ,tribes1 and ,state  
management agencies2 and  7,d7 produces 
data used by ,state and ,tribal fish    
management agencies to make management  
decisions regarding ,great ,lakes       
fisheries2  7#e7 annually1 ,federal1    
,state1 and ,tribal agencies stock      
approximately #ba1jjj1jjj               
hatchery-produced fish in the ,great    
,lakes to support-- 7,a7 native species 
recovery2 and  7,b7 recreational and    
commercial fishing2  7#f7 mass marking  
of hatchery-produced fish1 using        
automated technology1 is an efficient   
method of implementing a collaborative1 
science-based fishery program2 and  7#g7
 the ,great ,lakes are an important and 
valued resource that-- 7,a7 supports a  
robust regional economy valued at more  

than #g1jjj1jjj1jjj2 and  7,b7 provides 
stability to the economy of the ,united 
,states4  #c4 ,definitions ,in this     
,act3 7#a7 ,director ,the term ,director
 means the ,director of the ,united     
,states ,fish and ,wildlife ,service4   
7#b7 ,program ,the term ,program means  
the ,great ,lakes ,mass ,marking        
,program established by section #d7;a74 
#d4 ,great ,lakes ,mass ,marking        
,program  7a7 ,in general ,to assist in 
determining the effectiveness of        
hatchery operations and fisheries       
management actions and to support ,great
 ,lakes fisheries1 there is established 
within the ,united ,states ,fish and    
,wildlife ,service a program for the    
mass marking of hatchery-produced fish  
in the ,great ,lakes basin1 to be known 
as the ,great ,lakes ,mass ,marking     
,program4  7b7 ,authorized actions ,in  
carrying out the ,program1 the ,director
 may-- 7#a7 purchase capital and        
expendable equipment1 fish tags1 and    
other items necessary to support and    

carry out tagging and tag recovery      
operations1 including data processing   
and data dissemination relating to those
 operations2 and  7#b7 hire additional  
personnel1 as necessary4  7c7 ,required 
collaboration ,in carrying out the      
,program1 the ,director shall           
collaborate with applicable ,federal1   
,state1 and ,tribal fish management     
agencies1 the ,council of ,lake         
,committees of the ,great ,lakes        
,fishery ,commission1 and signatories to
 the ,joint ,strategic ,plan for        
,management of ,great ,lakes ,fisheries4
  7d7 ,availability of data ,the        
,director shall make the data collected 
under the ,program available to         
applicable ,federal1 ,state1 and ,tribal
 fish management agencies-- 7#a7 to     
increase the understanding of the       
outcomes of management action2  7#b7 to 
assist in meeting the restoration       
objectives of the ,great ,lakes1        
including the fish community objectives 
and fish management plans described in  

the ,joint ,strategic ,plan for         
,management of ,great ,lakes ,fisheries2
  7#c7 to assist in balancing predators 
and prey2  7#d7 to support and improve  
the economic status of ,tribal1         
recreational1 and commercial fisheries2 
and  7#e7 to assist in evaluating the   
effectiveness of habitat restoration    
efforts in the ,great ,lakes4  #e4      
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
is authorized to be appropriated to     
carry out the ,program #e1jjj1jjj for   
each of fiscal years #bjbf through      
#bjcj4