I
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. R. 2176
To prohibit certain actions with respect to certain marine reef species, and
for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH18, 2025
Mr. C
ASE(for himself and Mr. HUFFMAN) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to
the Committees on Ways and Means, and Foreign Affairs, for a period
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
A BILL
To prohibit certain actions with respect to certain marine
reef species, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Saving Natural Eco-4
systems and Marine Organisms Act of 2025’’ or the ‘‘Sav-5
ing NEMO Act of 2025’’. 6
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SEC. 2. PROHIBITION WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN MARINE 1
REEF SPECIES. 2
(a) D
ESIGNATION OFCOVEREDCORALREEFSPE-3
CIES.— 4
(1) I
N GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte-5
rior shall designate as a covered coral reef species— 6
(A) any marine reef species that is listed 7
in Appendix II of the Convention on Inter-8
national Trade in Endangered Species of Wild 9
Fauna and Flora— 10
(i) as of the effective date of this sec-11
tion; and 12
(ii) after the effective date of this sec-13
tion, unless the Secretary of the Interior, 14
in consultation with the Secretary of Com-15
merce, finds, not later than 90 days after 16
the effective date of the inclusion of such 17
species in Appendix II, that the take, im-18
port, and export of such species do not 19
represent a substantial risk of harm to the 20
sustainability of such species and the coral 21
reef ecosystem of such species; and 22
(B) any marine reef species the take, im-23
port, or export of which the Secretary of the In-24
terior and the Secretary of Commerce jointly 25
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determine, after notice and opportunity for pub-1
lic comment— 2
(i) presents a substantial risk of harm 3
to the sustainability of such species or the 4
coral reef ecosystem of such species; or 5
(ii) results in high mortality rates for 6
individuals of such species due to poor sur-7
vivorship in transport or captivity. 8
(2) R
EMOVAL OF DESIGNATION .— 9
(A) I
N GENERAL.—The Secretary of the 10
Interior may remove the designation of a spe-11
cies as a covered coral reef species if the Sec-12
retary determines that such removal does not 13
represent a substantial risk of harm to the sus-14
tainability of such species or the coral reef eco-15
system of such species. 16
(B) R
OLE OF SECRETARY OF COM -17
MERCE.—In carrying out subparagraph (A), the 18
Secretary of the Interior shall consult with the 19
Secretary of Commerce with respect to a cov-20
ered coral reef species described in paragraph 21
(1)(A) and act jointly with the Secretary of 22
Commerce with respect to a covered coral reef 23
species described in subparagraph (1)(B). 24
(b) P
ROHIBITION.—It is unlawful for any person to— 25
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(1) take an individual of any covered coral reef 1
species within waters under the jurisdiction of the 2
United States; 3
(2) import into or export from the United 4
States an individual of any covered coral reef spe-5
cies; 6
(3) possess, sell, purchase, deliver, carry, trans-7
port, or receive in interstate or foreign commerce an 8
individual of any covered coral reef species taken or 9
imported in violation of paragraph (1) or (2); or 10
(4) attempt to commit any act described in 11
paragraphs (1) through (3). 12
(c) E
XCEPTIONS.— 13
(1) I
N GENERAL.—Subsection (b) does not 14
apply with respect to an individual of a covered coral 15
reef species that is— 16
(A) taken in accordance with a qualified 17
scientifically-based management plan for such 18
covered coral reef species, as determined by the 19
appropriate Secretary; 20
(B) a product of a qualified cooperative 21
breeding program for such covered coral reef 22
species, as determined by the appropriate Sec-23
retary; 24
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(C) a product of a qualified aquaculture or 1
mariculture facility, as determined by the ap-2
propriate Secretary; 3
(D) taken pursuant to authorization by the 4
Secretary of Commerce, or imported or ex-5
ported pursuant to authorization by the Sec-6
retary of the Interior, for scientific purposes, 7
museum purposes, or zoological breeding or dis-8
play; or 9
(E) taken pursuant to— 10
(i) an applicable incidental take per-11
mit issued under section 10(a)(1)(B) of 12
the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 13
U.S.C. 1539(a)(1)(B)); or 14
(ii) an applicable permit issued by a 15
country other than the United States if 16
such permit is equivalent to an incidental 17
take permit described in clause (i), as de-18
termined by the appropriate Secretary. 19
(2) D
ESTRUCTIVE COLLECTION PRACTICES .— 20
The exceptions described in paragraph (1) do not 21
apply with respect to an individual of a covered coral 22
reef species that is, as determined by the appro-23
priate Secretary— 24
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(A) taken through the use of any destruc-1
tive collection practice; or 2
(B) imported or exported without a certifi-3
cation by the importer or exporter that such in-4
dividual to be imported or exported was not 5
taken through the use of any destructive collec-6
tion practice. 7
(d) E
NFORCEMENT.— 8
(1) C
IVIL PENALTIES.—The Secretary of the 9
Interior or the Secretary of Commerce, upon finding 10
a violation of subsection (b), may require the person 11
responsible for such violation to pay a civil penalty 12
in an amount determined under a schedule of pen-13
alties jointly issued by the Secretary of the Interior 14
and the Secretary of Commerce, but which does not 15
exceed $25,000 for each violation, and which takes 16
into account— 17
(A) the nature of the violation involved; 18
(B) the monetary value of each individual 19
of a covered coral reef species that is the sub-20
ject of the violation involved; 21
(C) any previous violation of subsection (b) 22
by the person; and 23
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(D) such other factors as the Secretary of 1
the Interior or the Secretary of Commerce de-2
termines appropriate. 3
(2) D
ECLARATORY OR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF .— 4
The Attorney General may bring a civil action in an 5
appropriate United States district court seeking de-6
claratory or injunctive relief for any alleged violation 7
of subsection (b). 8
(3) C
RIMINAL PENALTIES.— 9
(A) I
N GENERAL.—Any person that know-10
ingly violates subsection (b) shall be fined in ac-11
cordance with title 18, United States Code, im-12
prisoned for not more than 6 months, or both. 13
(B) P
ERSONS ENGAGED IN BUSINESS .— 14
Any person engaged in business as an importer 15
or exporter of a covered coral reef species that 16
knowingly violates subsection (b) shall be fined 17
in accordance with title 18, United States Code, 18
imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or both. 19
(C) F
ALSE STATEMENTS IN CERTIFI -20
CATIONS.—Any person that knowingly makes, 21
causes to be made, or submits any false mate-22
rial statement or representation in a certifi-23
cation under subsection (c)(2)(B) shall be fined 24
in accordance with title 18, United States Code, 25
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imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or both, 1
and may also be prohibited from importing or 2
exporting any covered coral reef species. 3
(4) R
EWARDS AND INCIDENTAL EXPENSES .— 4
(A) I
N GENERAL.—The Secretary of the 5
Interior or the Secretary of Commerce may pay, 6
from sums received as penalties, fines, or for-7
feitures of property for violations of subsection 8
(b)— 9
(i) a reward to any person that fur-10
nishes information which leads to an ar-11
rest, criminal conviction, civil penalty as-12
sessment, or forfeiture of property for any 13
violation of subsection (b); and 14
(ii) the reasonable and necessary costs 15
incurred by any person in providing tem-16
porary care for any individual of a covered 17
coral reef species pending the disposition 18
of any civil or criminal proceeding alleging 19
a violation of subsection (b). 20
(B) I
NELIGIBILITY OF GOVERNMENT OFFI -21
CIALS.—Any officer or employee of the United 22
States or any State or local government who 23
furnishes information or renders service in the 24
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performance of their official duties is ineligible 1
to receive a reward under this paragraph. 2
(5) E
XECUTIVE BRANCH ENFORCEMENT .— 3
(A) S
EARCHES AND SEIZURES .— 4
(i) I
N GENERAL.—Any person author-5
ized by the Secretary of the Interior, the 6
Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of 7
the Treasury, or the Secretary of the De-8
partment in which the Coast Guard is op-9
erating may search for and seize any indi-10
vidual of a covered coral reef species taken, 11
imported, exported, possessed, sold, pur-12
chased, delivered, carried, transported, or 13
received in violation of subsection (b), as 14
authorized by law. 15
(ii) S
EIZED COVERED CORAL REEF 16
SPECIES.—Each individual of a covered 17
coral reef species seized under clause (i) 18
shall be held by any person so authorized 19
pending disposition of civil or criminal pro-20
ceedings, or the institution of an action in 21
rem for forfeiture of each such individual 22
pursuant to subparagraph (C), except that 23
the appropriate Secretary may, in lieu of 24
holding each such individual, allow the 25
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owner or consignee to post a bond or other 1
surety satisfactory to the appropriate Sec-2
retary, but upon forfeiture of any such 3
property to the United States, or the aban-4
donment or waiver of any claim to any 5
such property, it shall be disposed of 6
(other than by sale to the general public) 7
by the appropriate Secretary in such a 8
manner, consistent with the purposes of 9
this section, as the appropriate Secretary 10
shall by regulation prescribe. 11
(B) C
ITATIONS.—If any officer authorized 12
to enforce the provisions of this section finds 13
that a person has violated subsection (b), such 14
officer may, in accordance with regulations 15
jointly issued by the Secretary of the Interior, 16
the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary 17
of the Department in which the Coast Guard is 18
operating, issue a citation to the violator. 19
(C) F
ORFEITURE.— 20
(i) C
OVERED CORAL REEF SPECIES .— 21
Any individual of a covered coral reef spe-22
cies taken, imported, exported, possessed, 23
sold, delivered, carried, transported, or re-24
ceived in interstate or foreign commerce in 25
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violation of subsection (b) shall be subject 1
to forfeiture to the United States. 2
(ii) E
QUIPMENT USED IN UNLAWFUL 3
PRACTICES.—All guns, traps, nets, and 4
other equipment and vessels, vehicles, air-5
craft, and other means of transportation 6
used to aid a violation of subsection (b), 7
shall be subject to forfeiture to the United 8
States upon the conviction of the person 9
that owns such equipment or means of 10
transportation of a criminal violation pur-11
suant to subparagraph (A) or (B) of para-12
graph (3). 13
(D) O
THER PROVISIONS OF LAW .—Any 14
provision of law relating to the seizure, for-15
feiture, and condemnation of a vessel for viola-16
tion of a customs law, the disposition of such 17
vessel or the proceeds from the sale thereof, 18
and the remission or mitigation of such for-19
feiture shall apply to any seizure or forfeiture 20
incurred or allegedly incurred under this sec-21
tion, insofar as such provision of law is applica-22
ble and not inconsistent with the provisions of 23
this section, except that all powers, rights, and 24
duties conferred or imposed by the customs 25
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laws upon any officer or employee of the De-1
partment of the Treasury shall, for the pur-2
poses of this section, be exercised or performed 3
by the Secretary of Commerce or by such per-4
sons as the Secretary of Commerce may des-5
ignate. 6
(6) C
ITIZEN ACTIONS.— 7
(A) I
N GENERAL.—Except as provided in 8
subparagraph (D), any person may commence a 9
civil action to enjoin any person, including the 10
United States and any other governmental in-11
strumentality or agency (to the extent allowed 12
by the 11th Amendment to the Constitution), 13
that is alleged to be in violation of subsection 14
(b). 15
(B) J
URISDICTION OF DISTRICT COURTS .— 16
The United States District Court for the judi-17
cial district in which the alleged violation occurs 18
shall have jurisdiction in all actions brought 19
under this paragraph, without regard to the 20
amount in controversy or the citizenship of the 21
parties. 22
(C) I
NTERVENTION BY ATTORNEY GEN -23
ERAL.—In any action under this paragraph in 24
which the United States is not a party, the At-25
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torney General may intervene on behalf of the 1
United States as a matter of right. 2
(D) E
XCEPTIONS.—No action may be com-3
menced under this paragraph for an alleged vio-4
lation of subsection (b)— 5
(i) before the date that is 60 days 6
after the date on which written notice of 7
such alleged violation is given to the Sec-8
retary of the Interior, the Secretary of 9
Commerce, and any alleged violator of 10
such subsection; or 11
(ii) if the Secretary of the Interior, 12
the Secretary of Commerce, or the Attor-13
ney General has initiated an enforcement 14
action under this subsection with respect 15
to such alleged violation. 16
(E) R
ECOVERY OF COURT COSTS .—In any 17
action brought pursuant to subparagraph (A), 18
the court may award costs of litigation (includ-19
ing reasonable attorney and expert witness fees) 20
to any party whenever the court determines 21
such award is appropriate. 22
(F) R
ELIEF UNDER OTHER LAWS .—The 23
injunctive relief provided by this paragraph 24
shall not restrict any right which any person 25
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may have under any statute or common law to 1
seek enforcement of any standard or limitation 2
or to seek any other relief. 3
(7) A
MERICAN SAMOA.—For the purposes of 4
any action brought under this subsection, American 5
Samoa shall be included within the judicial district 6
of the United States District Court for the District 7
of Hawaii. 8
(e) D
EFINITIONS.—In this section: 9
(1) A
PPROPRIATE SECRETARY .—The term ‘‘ap-10
propriate Secretary’’ means— 11
(A) the Secretary of Commerce with re-12
spect to domestic matters; 13
(B) the Secretary of Commerce and the 14
Secretary of the Interior with respect to foreign 15
matters; or 16
(C) the Secretary with jurisdiction over the 17
waters in which the matter is located with re-18
spect to matters located in waters within the 19
exclusive economic zone. 20
(2) C
OVERED CORAL REEF SPECIES .—The term 21
‘‘covered coral reef species’’ means any marine reef 22
species designated by the Secretary of the Interior 23
under subsection (a). 24
(3) D
ESTRUCTIVE COLLECTION PRACTICE .— 25
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(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘destructive 1
collection practice’’ means any practice used to 2
take an individual of a covered coral reef spe-3
cies that involves the use of any of the fol-4
lowing: 5
(i) Reef-dredging. 6
(ii) Explosives. 7
(iii) Poison. 8
(iv) Any other destructive collection 9
practice identified by the Secretary of 10
Commerce by regulation, in consultation 11
with the Secretary of the Interior. 12
(B) P
RESENCE OF POISONS.—For the pur-13
poses of this paragraph, the presence of any 14
poison, or any metabolite associated with any 15
such poison, in an individual of a covered coral 16
reef species shall constitute evidence that poison 17
was used in the take of such individual. 18
(4) E
XCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE .—The term 19
‘‘exclusive economic zone’’ has the meaning given 20
the term in section 3 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fish-21
ery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 22
1802). 23
(5) M
ARINE REEF SPECIES.—The term ‘‘marine 24
reef species’’— 25
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(A) means a marine species that— 1
(i) as determined by the Secretary of 2
the Interior, lives primarily within a coral 3
reef, including species of coral; and 4
(ii) is collected commercially for the 5
aquarium and curio trade; and 6
(B) does not include a marine species de-7
scribed in subparagraph (A) that is ordinarily 8
taken for human consumption. 9
(6) Q
UALIFIED AQUACULTURE OR 10
MARICULTURE FACILITY .—The term ‘‘qualified 11
aquaculture or mariculture facility’’ means an aqua-12
culture or mariculture facility that, with respect to 13
a covered coral reef species— 14
(A) only sells individuals of the covered 15
coral reef species that are produced by such fa-16
cility; 17
(B) operates in a manner that is not detri-18
mental to the conservation of the covered coral 19
reef species in the wild; 20
(C) operates in a manner that does not 21
harm the coral reef ecosystem of the covered 22
coral reef species, including by introducing non- 23
indigenous species or pathogens; and 24
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(D) operates with safeguards sufficient to 1
prevent the escape of— 2
(i) captive individuals of the covered 3
coral reef species; and 4
(ii) eggs, larvae, young, fragments, 5
and other organs of propagation of such 6
covered coral reef species. 7
(7) Q
UALIFIED COOPERATIVE BREEDING PRO -8
GRAM.—The term ‘‘qualified cooperative breeding 9
program’’ means a cooperative breeding program 10
that— 11
(A) is designed to promote the conserva-12
tion of a covered coral reef species and main-13
tain such covered coral reef species in the wild 14
by enhancing the propagation and survival of 15
such covered coral reef species; and 16
(B) is developed and administered by, or in 17
conjunction with, an aquarium, conservation, or 18
zoological organization that meets standards es-19
tablished by the appropriate Secretary. 20
(8) Q
UALIFIED SCIENTIFICALLY -BASED MAN-21
AGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘qualified scientifically- 22
based management plan’’ means a scientifically- 23
based management plan that— 24
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(A) provides for the conservation of a cov-1
ered coral reef species and the habitat of such 2
covered coral reef species; 3
(B) provides that individuals of a covered 4
coral reef species are taken in a manner and in 5
quantities that— 6
(i) do not threaten the biological sus-7
tainability of such covered coral reef spe-8
cies or the role of such covered coral reef 9
species in the coral reef ecosystem of such 10
covered coral reef species; and 11
(ii) minimize the adverse impact of 12
the take of such covered coral reef species 13
on the coral reef ecosystem of such covered 14
coral reef species; 15
(C) addresses factors relevant to the con-16
servation of the covered coral reef species, in-17
cluding— 18
(i) illegal trade; 19
(ii) domestic trade; 20
(iii) subsistence use; 21
(iv) disease; 22
(v) habitat loss; and 23
(vi) cumulative effects of the take of 24
the covered coral reef species; and 25
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(D) prohibits the use of destructive collec-1
tion practices. 2
(f) E
FFECTIVEDATE.—This section shall take effect 3
on the date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment 4
of this section. 5
Æ
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