By Claire Whitcomb
WASHINGTON — The White House on Friday released a round of endorsements from fishing groups and Cabinet officials for President Donald Trump’s America First Seafood Strategy, a week after the administration unveiled the plan and launched Seafood.gov, according to a White House release.
The strategy’s first steps include a new voluntary “U.S. Caught Seafood” label and more than $5 billion in guaranteed loans to expand American meat and seafood processing. The administration says the plan is meant to end federal policies that, in its words, “punished American producers and rewarded foreign dependence.”
Cabinet officials
“The America First Seafood Strategy ensures that the future of seafood in the United States will be built by American fishermen, American workers, and American industry—not by foreign imports,” said Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said U.S. commercial fishermen operate under “the strongest environmental regulations and the greatest sustainability regulations,” which he said puts them at a disadvantage. “President Trump is rebuilding the infrastructure and reopening the markets for our commercial fishermen,” he said.
Industry groups
“President Trump has brought more attention to the problems facing U.S. fishermen than any other in my lifetime,” said Brent Fulcher, chair of the North Carolina Fishermen’s Association.
Jason Joyce of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association called the label “a major win for consumers, American fishermen, seafood processors, and retailers alike.”
The National Seafood Association, which represents processors and importers as well as domestic harvesters, also praised the plan while noting that “global sourcing plays an indispensable role in feeding American families,” said its president and CEO, Lisa Wallenda Picard.
Blake Price of the Southern Shrimp Alliance said the shrimp industry “is thrilled to see a detailed America First Seafood Strategy and looks forward to assisting federal agencies in the implementation of its objectives.”
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins posted that “foreign imports have undercut American fishermen and workers,” and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said the welfare of fishermen in Maine and Alaska “has been a key focus of this White House.”
Michelle Stratton of the Alaska Marine Community Coalition said, “Investing in American seafood means investing in the people and places that keep this country fed,” and Ben Martens of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association said the group welcomes “the attention to fleet and port modernization and access to financing.”
Why it matters here
The guaranteed-loan program covers meat processing as well as seafood, which could open it to food processors well away from the coasts, including in upstate New York. The voluntary label is aimed at shoppers nationwide, and its reach will depend on how many retailers and suppliers choose to use it.
What comes next
The release did not include details on how loans will be underwritten or when the label will appear in stores. Several groups said they look forward to working with federal agencies on implementation, and groups from Alaska to Santa Barbara emphasized port infrastructure, cold storage and vessel modernization as priorities.
Quotes are drawn from the White House release.
Photo: James St. John, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Lobster boat at Bay Harbor, Maine.
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