Definitions

(a) Secretary To define forage fish Section 305 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1855) is amended by adding at the end the following: (l) Forage fish Not later than 12 months after the date of the enactment of the Forage Fish Conservation Act of 2025, the Secretary, with advice from the Councils, shall issue a definition of the term forage fish for the purposes of this Act, giving due consideration to definitions of forage fish included in approved fishery management plans. In defining such term, the Secretary shall consider factors including whether a species covered by such definition, throughout the lifecycle of such species— (1) is at a low trophic level; (2) is generally small- to intermediate-sized; (3) occurs in schools or other dense aggregations; (4) contributes significantly to the diets of other fish, marine mammals, or birds; and (5) serves as a conduit for energy transfer to species at a higher trophic level.. (b) Definitions Section 3 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1802) is amended— (1) by redesignating the second paragraph (33) as paragraph (53); (2) by redesignating paragraphs (28) through (50) as paragraphs (30) through (52), respectively; (3) by redesignating paragraphs (19) through (27) as paragraphs (20) through (28), respectively; (4) by inserting after paragraph (18) the following: (19) The term forage fish — (A) has the meaning given the term by the Secretary under section 305(l); and (B) with respect to a species in a fishery managed pursuant to a fishery management plan or plan amendment that is approved by the Secretary, in coordination with the Councils, under section 304(a), means any species identified in such plan as a forage fish.; and (5) by inserting after paragraph (28), as so redesignated by paragraph (3) of this section, the following: (29) The term low trophic level means a position in the marine food web in which the fish generally consume plankton..