Saving Seafood

US lawmakers request broad Section 301 investigation into foreign seafood

May 15, 2026 — A pair of U.S. lawmakers have asked U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Jamieson Greer to launch a Section 301 investigation into unfair trade practices that are harming America’s seafood industry.

“We encourage the USTR to pursue a seafood-specific Section 301 investigation that examines all unfair acts, policies, and practices across the full seafood supply chain from countries including but not limited to Argentina, Canada, Chile, China, Ecuador, Egypt, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Spain, Thailand, and Vietnam, ” U.S. Representative Troy Carter (D-Louisiana) and U.S. Representative Clay Higgins (R-Louisiana) said in the 11 May letter.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

MARYLAND: Eastern Shore seafood companies say potential crab import bans could threaten jobs, supply chains

May 7, 2026 — A coalition of seafood companies including several local businesses filed a federal lawsuit challenging new federal seafood import restrictions that they say could devastate crab processing operations on the Eastern Shore and disrupt the nation’s crab supply chain.

While the companies have been successful in delaying those restrictions, the federal government could reintroduce them this month.

The original lawsuit, acquired by WBOC, was filed in October of 2025 in the United States Court of International Trade by the National Fisheries Institute, Restaurant Law Center, and several seafood importers and processors. Those businesses included Baltimore-based Phillips Foods and Salisbury-based Handy Seafood, Cebu Pacific LLC, and Byrd International Inc.

Read the full article at WBOC

Some tariffs may be gone, but wholesale seafood industry is still reeling

March 19, 2026 — Walking into the Thomas M. Menino Convention & Exhibition Center in Boston, you can smell the seafood. Which makes sense given that it’s hosting the country’s largest wholesale seafood expo. Suppliers from around the world dole out samples of fresh sashimi, crispy fish sticks, and seaweed salad.

“It’s sweet, and it’s a little bit spicy, and it’s a compliment to meat or heavier stuff,” said Camille Zhu, who runs a seaweed company on the coast of Shandong province in Northern China.

She began selling to the U.S. just last year and said it’s been hard with all the trade tensions and tariffs. But she’s confident in her product.

“People are starting to accept seaweed as a source of nutrition, and they’re looking for a healthy diet,” she said. “And with the popularity of Japanese cuisine, yeah, it’s getting pretty big for us.”

About 80% of seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported. Some of the biggest suppliers —including China and India — have seen some of the highest tariffs from the Trump administration in the past year. All that has thrown the global seafood trade into chaos.

Read the full article at Marketplace

Seafood fraud is rampant, imperiling fish populations, report finds

March 6, 2026 — The global fisheries and aquaculture sector produces more than 150 million metric tons of food per year, valued at nearly $200 billion. Yet it’s plagued with fraud, according to a new report.

The report, published Feb. 10 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency, both United Nations bodies, says that up to roughly 20% of aquatic products are intentionally mislabeled as the wrong species or otherwise fraudulent, posing environmental and health risks.

“A global 20% seafood fraud rate isn’t just a statistic; it’s a dire warning,” Max Valentine, a campaign director at U.S.-based marine conservation NGO Oceana, said in a statement. (An Oceana policy adviser to the NGO’s Europe branch contributed to the FAO report, but Valentine wasn’t involved with it.) “Consumers are falling victim to a bait and switch, and the fishers who play by the rules are paying the price. This is a global problem that every nation must work together to combat at its source.”

The report, presented at the World Seafood Congress held Feb. 9-11 in Chennai, India, calls for governments and industry stakeholders to establish better traceability systems, use advanced detection methods, and educate the public.

“Tools of great relevance are national legislation and national and international standards, which are vital in defining acceptable products and practices,” the report says.

Read the full article at the Mongabay

LOUISIANA: More than 900 Louisiana restaurants cited for violating new seafood labeling law in 2025

February 13, 2026 — More than 900 restaurants were cited in 2025 for violating Louisiana’s new seafood labeling law, according to the Louisiana Illuminator.

First passed in 2019, the law requires restaurants to disclose either on their menu or with a clear public sign whether the crawfish and shrimp they sell is imported. First-time violations result in a fine of up to USD 500 (EUR 421), and repeat violations can increase fines up to USD 2,000 (EUR 1,685).

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US bill would authorize disaster funding for commercial fishers hurt by foreign subsidies

December 8, 2025 — U.S. lawmakers have reintroduced legislation that would allow fishery disaster funding to be awarded to commercial fisheries hurt by foreign subsidies, predatory pricing, and illegal, unreported, or unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s fishery resource disasters assistance program provides financial assistance to commercial fishers and related businesses that experience sudden, unexpected losses. NOAA Fisheries has awarded fishery disaster determinations for hurricanes, harmful algal blooms, oil spills, and other man-made or natural events that cause harm to commercial fisheries.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US Congress establishes USDA seafood liaison, bans Chinese seafood from school lunches

November 13, 2025 — The longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history has ended, with Republicans garnering enough support in the Senate to pass a continuing resolution that will keep the government funded into January.

The legislation largely continues funding at fiscal year 2025 levels, but lawmakers were able to add a few provisions into the appropriations bill through a last minute amendment in the Senate, including passing a major priority for the U.S. seafood industry: the establishment of a new seafood liaison position within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Foreign food inspections plummet following Trump administration layoffs

November 10, 2025 — Foreign food inspections conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have plummeted under U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, according to an investigation by news outlet ProPublica.

“Basic regulatory oversight functions have been decimated,” Consumer Reports Food Policy Director Brian Ronholm told ProPublica. “There’s an enhanced risk of more outbreaks.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Trump’s latest tariff proposal threatens year-end deals for Chinese exporters

October 21, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent threat of instituting a 100 percent tariff on all Chinese goods from 1 November onward has generated yet more uncertainty for Chinese seafood exporters.

“Although we don’t know whether this will be implemented in the end, this has definitely disturbed all of our shipment plans,” said Josephine Wang, the head of export sales at Hainan, China-based tilapia producer Hainan Golden Spring Foods. “We do have some U.S. orders in hand right now, but nobody knows how to deal with it.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource