Florida Safe Seas Act of 2025

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3831 amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to prohibit the feeding of sharks within the exclusive economic zone surrounding Florida. Currently, the Magnuson-Stevens Act only bans shark feeding in Federal waters around Hawaii and the U.S. territories.

Feeding sharks can alter their natural behavior by creating an association between humans and food sources. This behavioral conditioning may increase the risk of human-shark interactions, placing both people and sharks in danger. These changes in behavior can also disrupt the balance of marine ecosystems overall.

The increased risk of negative human and shark interactions is bad for the economy, too. It harms ecotourism and recreation, which is a multibillion-dollar industry that fuels coastal towns.

In addition, the fishing community is increasingly concerned that shark feeding encourages depredation, which is the partial or complete removal of a hooked fish from an angler's line by a shark.

NOAA Fisheries has noted that one of the reasons shark depredations have increased is that sharks are able to identify boats as an easy source of food.

Florida State law already prohibits the feeding of sharks in State waters. This amendment would expand that ban to Florida's adjacent Federal waters, creating continuity and a cohesive approach to protecting the coast, supporting a strong coastal economy, safeguarding those who rely on these waters for work and recreation, and preserving Florida's cherished marine life.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R.

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Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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