June 11, 2025 — Representatives Seth Moulton (D-MA), Nick Begich (R-AK), Jill Tokuda (D-HI), Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-American Samoa), and Jared Golden (D-ME) have introduced a bill to reauthorize the Young Fishermen’s Development Act for an additional five years.
The Young Fishermen’s Development Act’s national competitive grant program supports the training and education of the nation’s next generation of commercial fishermen. The program authorizes grants of up to $200,000 per year (for up to three years per project) through NOAA’s Sea Grant Program to support new and established local and regional training, education, outreach, and technical assistance initiatives for young fishermen.
The program, which was signed into law in 2021, is currently authorized through 2026. Congressmen Moulton and Begich’s bipartisan bill would extend the authorization of the program for another five years, to 2031.