America First Seafood Strategy

American Seafood First

Restoring American seafood dominance, food security, and coastal prosperity.

Read the Full Strategy (PDF, 8.5 MB, opens in a new tab) (PDF, 11.4 MB)

The Challenge

Rich Waters.
Rising Imports.

The United States has some of the richest fishery resources in the world and the hardest working commercial fishermen on Earth. Yet America imports an overwhelming majority of its seafood supply while domestic seafood businesses and fishing communities struggle to survive. President Trump is fixing this, and putting America’s fisheries and American consumers first.

Unfair Foreign Competition

Heavily subsidized imports produced under weak labor, environmental, and safety standards flood American markets at prices domestic fishermen cannot match.

Overregulation & Rising Costs

American fishermen operate under some of the strictest rules in the world while compliance costs climb and fishing grounds narrow.

Illegal Fishing & Fraud

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and mislabeled imports undercut the businesses that play by the rules.

By the Numbers

A Production-First Agenda

$319B

In annual sales impacts generated by the U.S. seafood industry

1.7M

American jobs supported by the U.S. seafood industry

8.4B

Pounds of seafood caught annually by American fishermen

Sources: NOAA Fisheries, Fisheries Economics of the United States (opens in a new tab) and Fisheries of the United States (opens in a new tab).

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The Policy

An American-Industry
First Strategy

For too long, federal seafood policy focused on regulation and market contraction rather than production and growth. President Trump’s America First Seafood Strategy reverses that approach.

Optimize Production
Remove unnecessary burdens, restore access to productive fishing grounds, and set catch limits on the best and most current science.
Restore Profitability
Cut compliance costs, expand fishing opportunities, and widen access to risk-management and market-support tools.
Rebuild Infrastructure
Clear permitting barriers to private investment in working waterfronts, cold storage, and shoreside facilities.
Modernize Fleets & Ports
Ease vessel replacement and repowering, streamline permitting, and expand access to financing with USDA.
Increase Processing
Accelerate permitting, encourage private capital, and open existing USDA and SBA financing to processors.
Strengthen Exports
USDA trade missions, market development, and an aggressive push to eliminate foreign barriers to American seafood.
Promote at Home
A voluntary "U.S. Caught" label, clearer information for consumers, and American seafood in federal food programs.
Level the Playing Field
Enforce existing trade laws, inspect high-risk imports, fight seafood fraud, and insist on reciprocity.
Stop IUU Fishing
Target high-risk products and bad actors with better traceability, visa restrictions, and interagency intelligence.

The Plan

Five Coordinated Priorities

The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) — supported by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), and the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) — will pursue a production-first agenda.

American Seafood First: Labeling, Marketing & Market Access

Give American seafood a competitive advantage in its own market, help consumers identify it, and promote the quality of seafood harvested by American fishermen.

Key Actions

"U.S. Caught Seafood" label
Federal procurement priority
Eat American Seafood campaign
Open commercial markets
Modern seafood names
Truth in labeling task force
Support small-scale fisheries

Rebuilding America's Seafood Infrastructure & Processing Capacity

Harvested in America, landed in America, processed in America — by removing barriers to private investment, not by creating new federal bureaucracy.

Key Actions

Rebuild the supply chain
Bring processing home
America First investment priorities
Cut infrastructure red tape
Fleet recapitalization
Vessel modernization
Rebuild working waterfronts
Results-based KPIs

Fair Trade & Import Compliance and Enforcement

Expand market access for U.S. seafood, confront subsidies and non-reciprocal practices, and secure trading-partner commitments against IUU fishing and forced labor.

Key Actions

Remove foreign market barriers
Stronger import monitoring
Enforce trade agreements

Regulatory Reform & Industry Partnership

Commercial fishermen are among the strongest stewards of marine resources. Federal policy will support sustainable production while keeping them economically viable.

Key Actions

NOAA regulatory reforms
Aquaculture permitting standards

Strengthening American Health Through Seafood

The 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans are clear: Americans should eat seafood. Federal health policy will say so with one voice.

Key Actions

Modernize Dietary Reference Intakes
Align federal nutrition guidance
Seafood in federal nutrition programs
Public health education

USDA Rural Development

The SPUR Program

The SPUR program provides a 90 percent loan guarantee to commercial lenders, enabling them to offer financing to eligible borrowers. These loans support a wide range of activities aimed at expanding, improving, and diversifying the processing capacity for American meat, poultry, and seafood.

Learn More About SPUR (opens in a new tab)

The Label

U.S. Caught Seafood

A voluntary designation for seafood caught by American commercial fishermen on U.S.-flagged vessels operating under U.S. fisheries management — a simple, recognizable way to choose American.

U.S. Caught Seafood label

U.S. Caught Seafood

Made with U.S. Caught Seafood label

Made with U.S. Caught Seafood

Download the Labels (ZIP file with both labels) (ZIP, 782 KB)

To be established by FDA in coordination with NOAA and USDA. Complements existing country-of-origin labeling for fish and shellfish.

U.S. seafood—both wild-caught and farmed—is always a smart seafood choice (opens in a new tab). American fishermen operate under some of the most robust and transparent environmental standards in the world. Our fisheries are scientifically monitored and regionally managed under the 10 national standards (opens in a new tab) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (opens in a new tab).

The foundation of the U.S. system is strong science (opens in a new tab) and responsive management (opens in a new tab). NOAA Fisheries (opens in a new tab), the federal agency responsible for the stewardship of the nation’s ocean resources, works closely with eight regional fishery management councils (opens in a new tab) to use the best available science and maintain populations at sustainable levels, with regular public input and in full transparency.

Today, 94 percent of our fisheries (opens in a new tab) are being fished at sustainable, science-based levels. And our laws strictly require us to end overfishing immediately and rebuild depleted stocks. Frequent, routine at-sea surveys conducted by the Federal government, States, and public partners such as academia and cooperative industry research closely monitor population health and inform whether adjustments are needed to management strategies.

Through active international engagement (opens in a new tab), the U.S. is focused on the long-term prosperity of global fisheries by reducing seafood fraud (opens in a new tab), addressing illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (opens in a new tab), and making sure there is a level playing field for hardworking American fishermen.

USDA Programs

How USDA Supports Seafood

Explore USDA resources for American fishermen, aquatic farmers, processors, and seafood businesses.

Infrastructure Support Financing and programs for processing, cold storage, and working waterfronts. Marketing and Trade Market development, promotion, and export support for American seafood. Workforce and Business Development Resources to start, grow, and staff seafood businesses. Risk Management and Disaster Assistance Tools to help seafood producers manage risk and recover from disasters. Nutrition Seafood in USDA nutrition and food assistance programs. Seafood Safety and Inspection Inspection and safety programs that protect American consumers. Research and Development Science and innovation supporting a competitive seafood industry.

Eat American Seafood

Every Purchase Supports…

American jobs
Fishermen & fishing families
Coastal economies
Food security
Healthy American diets
High-quality protein
Responsible fisheries management
National economic resilience

The Trump Administration is launching a nationwide campaign encouraging dealers, processors, restaurants, grocers, chefs, and institutional buyers to identify and promote American seafood.

Health

Good for America. Good for You.

Seafood supports heart health, brain development, and immune function at every stage of life. USDA and HHS will align federal health policy and nutrition education to encourage Americans to eat more of it.

High-quality protein
Omega-3s (EPA & DHA)
Vitamin D
Vitamin B12
Iodine
Selenium
Choline

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers

What President Trump’s America First Seafood Strategy means for fishermen, processors, and consumers.

What is the America First Seafood Strategy?

President Trump’s America First Seafood Strategy (AFSS) restores American fisheries as a strategic national priority by rebuilding American seafood production, revitalizing domestic processing and infrastructure, promoting American seafood products, and ensuring federal policy prioritizes American fishermen over foreign imports.

What is the "U.S. Caught Seafood" label?

FDA, in coordination with NOAA and USDA, will establish a voluntary "U.S. Caught Seafood" designation for seafood caught by American commercial fishermen on U.S.-flagged vessels operating under U.S. fisheries management. It distinguishes seafood harvested under U.S. management from entirely foreign-origin seafood.

Is the label mandatory?

No. The designation is voluntary and is designed to complement — not replace — existing country-of-origin labeling requirements for fish and shellfish.

Does the strategy create new federal spending programs?

No. The strategy removes barriers to private investment, coordinates existing federal financing authorities, streamlines permitting, and uses existing programs more effectively. The federal role is to unlock capital, not replace it.

How will American seafood be prioritized in federal purchasing?

Consistent with procurement law and U.S. trade obligations, USDA, the Department of War, and other agencies will expand opportunities for American seafood in programs such as TEFAP, school meals, military and veterans food service, federal correctional facilities, and disaster feeding — and remove barriers that keep smaller and regional processors from competing.

How will the strategy address seafood fraud and illegal imports?

FDA, CBP, USDA, and NOAA will form a joint interagency task force to target mislabeling, species substitution, and country-of-origin fraud. Enforcement will focus on high-risk foreign supply chains and repeat violators — not on adding paperwork for American fishermen.

How will success be measured?

By results, not dollars spent: more seafood produced and processed in America, more private investment, more modern vessels, more viable working waterfronts, more American jobs, lower regulatory costs, and less dependence on foreign supply chains.

Resources