July 14, 2026 — The longfin squid that ends up on your plate as calamari may have been caught in Rhode Island, but it’s likely traveled to China and back again for processing before being served.
That example is illustrative of what’s known as the “seafood deficit,” a roughly $20 billion trade deficit due to the U.S. importing 80% to 90% of the seafood it consumes. For instance, more than 80% of squid caught in Rhode Island is frozen and shipped to China for processing, then refrozen and imported back to the United States, according to the Westerly Sun.
“It’s not because we don’t have seafood, it’s because we don’t have the capacity to process it,” said Taskin Padir, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Northeastern.