Saving Seafood

Saving Seafood statement on the America First Seafood Strategy

October 27, 2026 — “Saving Seafood, our national coalition, and our many supporters and colleagues throughout the commercial fishing and seafood industry welcome the America First Seafood Strategy and, in particular, its commitment to bringing the federal government together behind a stronger American seafood industry.

“For too long, seafood policy has too often been treated as only the responsibility of NOAA. This strategy recognizes that rebuilding American seafood production requires a much broader effort. We are especially pleased to see USDA working closely with NOAA, alongside the Department of Health and Human Services, FDA, the Coast Guard, the U.S. Trade Representative, MARAD and other federal agencies.

“American seafood is simultaneously a food product, an agricultural and nutritional priority, a major source of employment, an international trade commodity and an essential part of the economy of our coastal communities. The strategy reflects that reality by bringing together the agencies responsible for fisheries, food and nutrition, trade, infrastructure, financing and enforcement.

“That kind of coordinated federal attention to American seafood is long overdue, and it creates an opportunity to strengthen fishermen, processors, working waterfronts and seafood businesses throughout the country.”

 

Seafood companies, representative orgs praise new Dietary Guidelines for Americans

January 9, 2026 — The U.S. government recently updated its set of Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a change that has been largely welcomed by seafood companies and representative groups across the country.

Released on 7 January by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the new 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which advise Americans on healthy eating habits, represent “the most significant reset of federal nutrition policy in our nation’s history” and encourage Americans to “eat real food” by calling for a push away from processed foods “laden with refined carbohydrates, added sugars, excess sodium, unhealthy fats, and chemical additives.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Healthy fishermen for a healthy America‬

July 21, 2025 — The America First Seafood Strategy put forth in President Trump’s “Restoring America’s Seafood Competitiveness” executive order offers a promising vision for the economic resurgence of our fisheries, but first we must prioritize the wellbeing of the very people who can make that vision a reality: our commercial fishermen.

The shuttering of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Center for Maritime Safety and Health, coupled with the proposed elimination of its vital research and training funds in the 2026 Health and Human Services (HHS) budget, represents a dangerous misstep in the pursuit of a healthier nation.

For 40 years, NIOSH’s targeted prevention efforts have succeeded in dramatically improving the safety record of one of the nation’s most dangerous occupations. The data speaks for itself: Commercial fishing fatalities have been slashed by more than 80 percent since these initiatives began.

This isn’t just a matter of saving lives; it’s a sound investment as well as a Coast Guard requirement for many fisheries in order to leave the dock. For every dollar spent on NIOSH’s work, the return is millions in saved costs — from preventing expensive Coast Guard rescue operations to reduced burdens on the healthcare and insurance systems (not to mention our families and communities) for work-related injuries and deaths.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Pro-seafood scientists push to knock mercury warnings out of US Dietary Guidelines

September 23, 2019 — More than a dozen seafood-loving scientists are working to make the message contained in the US’ next update of its “Dietary Guidelines for Americans” even stronger when it comes to encouraging consumption by pregnant mothers and young children.

Their lengthy research paper, which cites some 40 studies that paint a very positive picture of seafood, is expected to be published within weeks in a peer-reviewed journal. Immediately after, the group plans to share its meta-study with the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, another 20 academics that make recommendations to the US departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services (USDA and HHS), about what should go into the document that has the most influence when it comes establishing nutrition policy in the country.

The hope: USDA and HHS altogether strike the current document’s mercury warnings and also the suggestion that seafood consumption be limited to 12 ounces per week from the language.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News