Federal program pays firms to buy invasive fish from bay fishers

What it does

The bill sets up a 2-year pilot program. The state pays firms to buy blue catfish from fishers in the Chesapeake Bay. Blue catfish are invasive and harm native fish. Pet food, animal feed, and fish farm feed firms buy the fish. The state sets the prices fishers get paid. Firms can use up to 15% of payments for shipping.

Who it affects

Fishers and seafood sellers in the Chesapeake Bay can earn money. Pet food, animal feed, and fish farm feed firms can buy the fish. The bay's native fish benefit because invasive blue catfish are removed.

One thing to notice

The bill does not say how much money will pay for this. The program only starts if the state publishes data on blue catfish numbers.

From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.

Where it stands

10 cosponsors: 6 Democrats, 4 Republicans.

• Jul 7, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Jul 7, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources and Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources”
• Jul 22, 2025 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Subcommittee Hearings Held”
• Jan 22, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Jan 22, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by Unanimous Consent”
• Mar 16, 2026 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Wittman moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended”
• Mar 17, 2026 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required)…”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

2 groups reported lobbying about this bill. They filed 3 reports from Dec 2025 to Jun 2026.

Those reports show $250,000 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 9 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.

More groups named this bill than 41% of bills with any report.

Sarah Elfreth, who sponsored the bill, received $469,064 from PACs for the 2026 election.

• Pet Food Institute — $150,000 in 1 report
• American Zoo and Aquarium Association — $100,000 in 2 reports

Lobbying is legal. These reports show who lobbied about this bill, not what changed.

Words to know

• invasive — a species that does not belong in an area and harms native fish
• pilot program — a test project that runs for a short time to see if it works
• lobbying — Trying to influence lawmakers about a bill. Companies and groups pay people to do this.
• PACs — Groups that collect money and give it to candidates for office.
• sponsored — To sponsor a bill is to introduce it in Congress and put your name on it.