October 26, 2026 — The Trump administration has rolled out a new federal seafood strategy aimed at increasing domestic production, rebuilding shoreside infrastructure, and strengthening the position of U.S. fishermen and processors against foreign competition.
President Donald Trump announced the America First Seafood Strategy as part of his administration’s implementation of the 2025 executive order, “Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness.” NOAA Fisheries will play a central role in carrying out the plan alongside the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration (USDA), and other federal agencies.
The strategy calls for expanding harvest opportunities where supported by science, reducing regulatory costs, investing in processing and waterfront infrastructure, strengthening seafood import enforcement and creating new ways to distinguish domestically harvested seafood in the marketplace.
“The species managed in U.S. waters are American icons, from Maine lobster to Gulf shrimp, from Alaskan salmon to Florida stone crab,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in NOAA’s announcement. “The America First Seafood Strategy ensures that the future of seafood in the United States will be built by American fishermen, American workers, and American industry, not by foreign imports.”