April 14, 2025 — High costs of entry, coupled with permitting barriers and the difficulty of maintaining modern fishing vessels, has the U.S. seafood industry’s workforce at an inflection point.
Ocean Strategies Principal Brett Veerhusen, speaking at a panel during the 2025 Seafood Expo North America – which ran from 16 to 18 March in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. – said the average age of a fisherman in the U.S. is increasing thanks to a high barrier to entry. Veerhusen said the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which was designed to better manage U.S. seafood stocks, has helped reduce overfishing but has also led to increased consolidation – which leaves little room for new fishermen.