The US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke is announcing the creation of the new US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Seafood. This new office will prioritize customer service and ease of navigation for American seafood cultivators, producers and processors to access USDA programs.

"With the launch of the USDA Office of Seafood, we are honoring decades of hard work on the water and opening the door to new opportunities, stronger support, and a brighter future for the seafood industry," said Rollins. "Today’s announcement, in addition to the historic tax cuts and investments in rural America made possible through the priorities and provisions in the Working Families Tax Cuts, is truly a new chapter for America’s fishermen."

Fifty years ago, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act—the primary law governing marine fisheries in US federal waters—was signed into law, providing the fishing industry with long-term economic stability. However, for years, fishermen across the country have been struggling to navigate programs at USDA that can help support their businesses.

With the creation of the USDA Office of Seafood, the federal government now enters a new era of seafood policy where American fishermen will be recognized by USDA as a key part of the US food supply.

One of the primary roles of the new USDA Office of Seafood will be coordinating across USDA agencies to ensure fishermen are integrated into USDA programs and working alongside the US Department of Commerce and other federal partners to revitalize the American seafood industry.

Today’s action supports USDA’s implementation of President Trump’s Executive Order 14276, Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness. The USDA Office of Seafood will play an important role in coordinating with the US Department of Commerce in the development of the America First Seafood Strategy to promote production, marketing, sale and export of US fishery and aquaculture products and strengthen domestic processing capacity.

Source: USDA