The Trump administration has unveiled a seafood strategy aimed at renewing the US commercial fishing fleet, upgrading waterfront infrastructure and tightening enforcement on imports, gCaptain reported. The America First Seafood Strategy seeks to increase domestic production and processing while improving market access for US fishermen, without announcing new federal spending.
The strategy, announced on 23 October, follows President Donald Trump’s April 2025 executive order on restoring American seafood competitiveness. It prioritises investment in shipyards, docks, cold storage, processing plants and working waterfronts. Federal agencies are to simplify permitting and remove impediments to private investment, drawing more extensively on financing already available through NOAA, the Department of Agriculture and the Small Business Administration.
NOAA will examine its Fisheries Finance Program and Capital Construction Fund for barriers to replacing ageing vessels or purchasing safer, more efficient US-built fishing boats. According to gCaptain, the initiative sits alongside the administration’s wider push to rebuild domestic shipbuilding capacity and the US-flagged fleet. Its funding approach rests on existing programmes and legal powers, regulatory reform and coordination between agencies rather than additional federal expenditure.
On trade, the plan seeks tougher action against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, seafood fraud and incorrect labelling. NOAA intends to upgrade its Seafood Import Monitoring Program through technology and more focused inspections of high-risk imports. The Office of the US Trade Representative will coordinate with other agencies to challenge unfair foreign practices and secure better overseas access for US seafood exporters.
Domestic market measures include a proposed voluntary US-caught designation for seafood harvested by American fishermen on US-flagged vessels under US fisheries management. Agencies will also pursue greater government procurement of American seafood and a national promotional campaign. The Food and Drug Administration has issued draft guidance covering US-origin statements and labelling.
Fisheries management changes would seek higher sustainable harvests and lower compliance costs, with NOAA working with regional councils and industry on science-based catch limits and access to fishing grounds. Clearer permitting standards for marine aquaculture in federal waters are also planned. NOAA said it would assess progress through domestic production and processing, private investment, jobs supported and lower reliance on foreign supply chains.