S. 688, FISH Act of 2025

Bill Summary

S. 688 would reauthorize the National Sea Grant College Program until September 30, 2031. In addition, the bill would authorize appropriations for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other federal agencies to expand enforcement of regulations against illegal, unreported, or unregulated (IUU) fishing and establish and maintain a blacklist of foreign vessels involved in those activities. The bill would increase sanctions and penalties for violators and would require agencies to track the use of forced labor on those vessels.

Estimated Federal Cost

The estimated budgetary effect of S. 688 is shown in Table 1. The costs of the legislation fall within budget function 300 (natural resources and environment).

Basis of Estimate

CBO assumes that S. 688 will be enacted by the end of calendar year 2025 and that the authorized and necessary amounts will be available in each year.

Spending Subject to Appropriation

Based on historical spending patterns, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $587 million over the 2026-2030 period.

National Sea Grant College Program. S. 688 would authorize the appropriation of $112 million annually from 2026 through 2031 for the National Sea Grant College Program. That program is a partnership between NOAA and 34 universities that focuses on research, conservation, and the effective use of U.S. coastal resources. In 2024, the Congress provided $80 million for the program. CBO estimates that implementing the provision would cost $489 million over the 2026-2030 period and $175 million after 2030, assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts.

Enforcement of Illegal-Fishing Regulations and Blacklisting Violators. S. 688 would authorize the appropriation of $20 million annually from 2026 through 2030 for NOAA, in coordination with Customs and Border Protection, and the Departments of Labor and State, to expand enforcement of regulations against IUU fishing.

Under the bill, NOAA would maintain and publish a blacklist of foreign vessels that violate IUU‑fishing regulations and that are identified as using forced labor in those activities. The agency also would be directed to issue regulations for adding vessels to and removing them from the list.

S. 688 also would authorize $4 million for the National Academy of Sciences to study the use of forced labor in IUU fishing, the costs to the global economy of those activities, and the effectiveness of strategies for deterring them.

CBO estimates that implementing those provisions would cost $91 million over the 2026‑2030 period and $12 million after 2030, assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts.

Administrative Costs. Using information from the agencies, CBO estimates that implementing S. 688 would cost NOAA $4 million in the first year to develop a strategy to increase IUU-fishing inspection and enforcement programs, to coordinate with other federal agencies and regional fisheries management organizations, and to collect and analyze data and prepare reports.[1] Thereafter, costs would total about $1 million annually for enforcement and increased screening of seafood imports. CBO estimates that those activities would cost a total of $7 million over the 2026‑2030 period; any related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.

Direct Spending and Revenues

S. 688 would allow the Administration to impose sanctions on any foreign persons or entities engaging in IUU fishing. CBO estimates that enacting the bill would have an insignificant effect on direct spending and revenues over the 2026-2035 period stemming from the sanctions the bill would authorize.

Under current law, the Administration can sanction foreign persons and entities that engage in corruption, including IUU fishing. If the enactment of S. 688 leads the Administration to broaden those sanctions, more people would be denied visas by the Department of State, resulting in an insignificant decrease in revenues from visa fees. Although most visa fees are retained by the Department of State and spent, some collections are deposited in the Treasury as revenues. Denying foreign nationals entry into the United States also would reduce direct spending on federal benefits (emergency Medicaid or federal subsidies for health insurance, for example) for which those people might otherwise be eligible.

The bill would block transactions involving certain assets either in the United States or under the control of people or entities in the United States. Under the bill, any person or entity violating those prohibitions would be subject to civil or criminal monetary penalties. Such penalties are recorded as revenues, and a portion can be spent without further appropriation.

Using data from similar sanctions, CBO estimates that any additional sanctions imposed under the bill would affect a small number of people. Thus, enacting S. 688 would have insignificant effects on revenues and direct spending, and would, on net, reduce deficits by insignificant amounts over the 2026-2035 period.

Pay-As-You-Go Considerations

The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or revenues. CBO estimates that enacting the bill would change direct spending and revenues by less than $500,000 over the 2026‑2035 period.

Increase in Long-Term Net Direct Spending and Deficits

CBO estimates that enacting S. 688 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2036.

Mandates

S. 688 would impose a private-sector mandate as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) by expanding the scope of authority for the Administration to regulate transactions between entities in the United States and foreign entities and officials of foreign governments who would be subject to sanctions under the bill. That expansion would result in additional burdens on individuals and entities, such as banks, in the United States that are required to monitor and report on foreign transactions and to block access to certain assets owned by sanctioned entities. Such an expansion also would prohibit transactions between entities in the United States and sanctioned parties that otherwise would be permitted under current law.

The cost of the mandate would be any income or profit lost as a result of the bill’s enactment. CBO expects that because a small number of people or entities would be affected, the loss of income from any incremental increase in restrictions imposed by the bill would be small as well. CBO estimates that the cost of the mandate would fall well below the annual threshold established in UMRA for private-sector mandates ($206 million in 2025, adjusted annually for inflation).

S. 688 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in UMRA.

Federal Costs: Aurora Swanson

Mandates: Erich Dvorak and Brandon Lever

Estimate Reviewed By

Ann E. Futrell
Chief, Natural and Physical Resources Cost Estimates Unit

Kathleen FitzGerald
Chief, Public and Private Mandates Unit

H. Samuel Papenfuss
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis