NOAA Fisheries has released its first-ever National Seafood Strategy after several rounds of stakeholder input and a public comment period earlier this year. The strategy underscores NOAA’s strong commitment to seafood sector resilience and aligns with the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals for economic recovery, environmental sustainability, and climate resilience. Further, the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health points to the need for increased seafood consumption in the United States, which this strategy aims to address.
The strategy also responds to the unprecedented challenges facing the U.S. seafood industry, including climate change, the coronavirus pandemic, new technologies and other ocean uses, significant labor shortages, and aging infrastructure.
The National Seafood Strategy outlines NOAA Fisheries’ direction for supporting a thriving domestic U.S. seafood economy. It describes our approach to enhancing the resilience of the seafood sector in the face of climate change and other stressors.
Their vision is to ensure that:
- U.S. seafood continues to be produced sustainably
- The U.S. seafood sector contributes to the nation’s climate-ready food production and to meeting critical domestic nutritional needs
- U.S. seafood production increases to support jobs, the economy, and the competitiveness of the U.S. seafood sector
- Supply chains and infrastructure are modernized with more value-added activity in the United States
- Opportunities are expanded for a diverse and growing seafood workforce
They plan to achieve their vision by focusing on four goals:
- Maintain or increase sustainable U.S. wild capture production
- Increase sustainable U.S. aquaculture production
- Foster access to domestic and global markets for the U.S. seafood industry
- Strengthen the entire U.S. seafood sector
