October 4, 2022 — There’s a new move afoot in Congress to revive the National Seafood Council, bringing back a unified national marketing campaign from three decades ago.
Industry advocates began to see the national council idea as a response to the covid-19 pandemic and its massive disruption of the U.S. seafood supply. Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Ben Cardin, D-Md., on Sept. 29 introduced the Seafood Marketing Act of 2022 to reestablish the National Seafood Council, to run a national seafood marketing campaign “that promotes the public health benefits and sustainability of all seafood,” according to a statement from the senators.
In 1986 Congress passed the Fish and Seafood Promotion Act that provided start-up funding for a national marketing council that operated from 1987 to 1991. After the market mayhem of covid-19 – which still saw strong consumer demand for seafood when it was available – the U.S. Department of Commerce Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee proposed reviving the National Seafood Council.