The Trump administration has launched a new website and proposed voluntary seafood labels as part of an “America First Seafood Strategy” aimed at strengthening the United States fishing industry and supporting coastal communities.
Seafood.gov is intended to provide fishermen and consumers with information about federal seafood initiatives, as well as the health and scientific reasons for choosing American seafood, according to the White House.
The Food and Drug Administration has proposed the use of “U.S. Caught Seafood” and “Made with U.S. Caught Seafood” labels. The designs are available to download from the new website and are intended to make it easier for shoppers to identify products harvested by American fishermen.
The FDA guidance is currently a draft and is not legally binding. It says any US-origin claims must be truthful and not misleading, with manufacturers and distributors expected to be able to substantiate the statements they make on packaging.
America First Seafood Strategy focuses on regulation and processing
The White House said the strategy would seek to reduce regulatory barriers to the expansion and modernisation of the industry, while restoring profitability for US fishermen and protecting fisheries from what it describes as unfair foreign competition.
Maine’s lobster industry is among the fisheries highlighted in the plan. The administration also pointed to a NOAA survey in which 70% of commercial fishing crew members said the rules governing their work were too restrictive.
More than $5 billion in US Department of Agriculture loan guarantees is being made available to expand and modernise meat and seafood processing. The USDA’s SPUR programme can support the creation, reopening, expansion or improvement of domestic processing facilities, with loan guarantees covering up to 90% of lending under the scheme.
The White House said the measures were designed to reinforce the role of fishermen in the country’s food security, economy and coastal communities. It has also linked the initiative to earlier actions by President Donald Trump to increase commercial fishing access and reduce what the administration calls unnecessary restrictions.
Trump proclaimed October as National Seafood Month and said the US seafood industry harvests nearly 8.5 billion pounds of food each year, supports more than one million jobs and generates more than $173 billion in commerce.
“And now, as we usher in a new Golden Age of seafood production, we are ensuring our fishing communities remain places where the next generation can raise a family, build a business, and pursue their own share of the American Dream,” he said.
