[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 207 (Tuesday, December 9, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H5076-H5077]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CORMORANT RELIEF ACT OF 2025
Mr. HURD of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 2293) to require the Secretary of the Interior to
reissue certain regulations relating to the taking of double-crested
cormorants at aquaculture facilities, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2293
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Cormorant Relief Act of
2025''.
SEC. 2. REGULATIONS RELATING TO TAKING OF DOUBLE-CRESTED
CORMORANTS AT AQUACULTURE FACILITIES.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall reissue the original
depredation order in accordance with subsection (b).
(b) Requirements.--The depredation order reissued under
subsection (a) shall be the same as the original depredation
order, except that the depredation order reissued under
subsection (a) shall--
(1) apply to--
(A) each of the States of California, Colorado,
Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, New
Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin and any other State
or territory of
[[Page H5077]]
the United States the Secretary determines appropriate in
addition to and in the same manner as each of the States to
which the original depredation order applied; and
(B) lake managers and pond managers in addition to and in
the same manner as each of the entities to which the original
depredation order applied;
(2) incorporate modern terminology;
(3) simplify the provisions contained in the original
depredation order related to compliance with other Federal
law;
(4) modernize the recordkeeping requirements contained in
the original depredation order; and
(5) remove the June 30, 2014, expiration date contained in
the original depredation order.
(c) Renewal.--Not less than once every 5 years after the
date on which the Secretary reissues the original depredation
order under subsection (a), the Secretary shall renew the
depredation order reissued under subsection (a).
(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act may be
construed to waive the obligation of the Secretary to comply
with the--
(1) National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.); or
(2) Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.).
(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Lake manager.--The term ``lake manager'' means a person
that is licensed by a State regulatory agency to manage a
private lake.
(2) Original depredation order.--The term ``original
depredation order'' means the depredation order for double-
crested cormorants at aquaculture facilities contained in
section 21.47 of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations (as in
effect on January 1, 2016).
(3) Pond manager.--The term ``pond manager'' means a person
that is licensed by a State regulatory agency to manage a
private pond.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior, acting through the Director of the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Colorado (Mr. Hurd) and the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Randall)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Colorado.
General Leave
Mr. HURD of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 2293, the bill now
under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Colorado?
There was no objection.
Mr. HURD of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2293, the Cormorant Relief Act
of 2025, sponsored by Representative Ezell from Mississippi. This
legislation would require the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to
reinstate the Aquaculture Depredation Order for double-crested
cormorants, which was in place from 1998 until 2016, until it was
vacated by a judge in response to yet another activist lawsuit.
Double-crested cormorants are waterbirds common to the Great Lakes
States and the Southeast. They are opportunistic and intelligent
predators that often feed at aquaculture facilities, where fish are
easy to catch. A variety of studies have determined that predation from
double-crested cormorants costs the aquaculture industry nearly $65
million annually in economic losses.
This legislation would streamline the permitting process to take
double-crested cormorants, restoring protections for aquaculture
producers without negatively impacting cormorant populations.
Mr. Speaker, I commend Representative Ezell for his continued
leadership and urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2293. I reserve the
balance of my time.
Ms. RANDALL. Mr. Speaker, I am here today to speak on H.R. 2293, the
Cormorant Relief Act of 2025.
Aquaculture facilities nationwide are facing issues with predatory
birds. We experience it in Washington State as well, along with the
pinnipeds that we spent some time discussing last week.
Double-crested cormorants consume large quantities of fish from these
operations, negatively impacting businesses that provide jobs and
support their local communities.
From 2003 to 2014, the Fish and Wildlife Service implemented the 2003
proposed rule adopting the Aquaculture Depredation Order and the Public
Resource Depredation Order, a Federal program that allowed aquaculture
operators, States, and Tribes to manage cormorant populations in a
controlled way with proper oversight. That program was found to be
unlawful by the courts.
This bill would lawfully reinstate the depredation order for
aquaculture facilities. Further, it would expand coverage to 12 States
and allow the Secretary to add others as appropriate. The bill would
also include aquaculture lake managers and pond managers who face
similar challenges.
I am pleased we were able to work out a bipartisan solution that
maintains environmental safeguards under bedrock environmental
protections like NEPA and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. This approach
will provide a reasonable regulatory framework with proper oversight
and require renewal every 5 years to ensure that it is working as
intended and that, moving forward, the Fish and Wildlife Service
conducts proper environmental assessments as it renews the program.
This bill will help U.S.-based aquaculture producers deliver healthy
and affordable protein for American families.
Mr. Speaker, I think this is a workable approach we can support, and
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HURD of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman
from Mississippi (Mr. Ezell), the lead sponsor of this bill.
Mr. EZELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2293,
the Cormorant Relief Act of 2025, which reinstates the Aquaculture
Depredation Order for double-crested cormorants. The double-crested
cormorant is a nuisance, plain and simple.
A single cormorant can eat up to 1\1/2\ pounds of fish every day.
Even the Fish and Wildlife Service has classified them as opportunist
and generalist feeders that prey on a wide range of species.
Yet, farmers are still forced to jump through needless hoops to
prevent these birds from wiping out their stock. The Aquaculture
Depredation Order is nothing new. It is the same commonsense tool that
was easily reinstated in 2003, 2009, and 2014.
Aquaculture farmers have been struggling for years with the
importation of nondomestic catfish flooding the market. Every year,
American catfish farmer communities lose up to $64 million in stock to
the cormorants alone.
For far too long, catfish farmers in Mississippi and across the
Southeast have been weighed down by burdensome permits and processes
created by people too far removed from the realities of everyday,
working-class Americans.
It is past time we restore a commonsense approach to this and ensure
that our farmers can finally defend their ponds without any Federal red
tape in the way.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Westerman, Leader Scalise, the Gulf
Coast officials, and numerous Mississippians who have worked hard to
bring this bill to the floor. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
Ms. RANDALL. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. HURD of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, this commonsense bill allows
aquaculture producers to effectively manage the overpopulation of
double-crested cormorants, which threatens their way of life and harms
coastal economies. I once again thank Mr. Ezell for his diligent work
and attention to this issue.
Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of H.R. 2293 and yield back the
balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Hurd) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 2293, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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