Saving Seafood

ALASKA: Harvest Fuel Relief Program to help farmers & fishermen

November 5, 2026 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a Harvest Fuel Relief Program on Oct. 19. The announcement, which came just ahead of the midterm elections, pledged $8 billion in one-time payments to American farmers and fishermen to provide relief for market disruptions and increased operating costs.

Alaska’s commercial fishermen could be eligible to share in the money. John Yeager of Wrangell had this to say.

With high fuel prices and insurance costs and bait costs, you leave the dock in the hole quite often, and that’s not a good feeling. It’s hard to maintain a business plan because you’re constantly adjusting for all these different increases in expenses.

The USDA has not said when it will start accepting applications or when the money would start going out.

Read the full article at KSTK

Fish is food: Opening USDA doors for commercial fishermen

October 30, 2026 — When the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) were established in 1970, it was recommended that they become part of their own oceans department or the Department of the Interior. But the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, which preceded NOAA, focused on marine resources as economic assets, so the Nixon Administration put the new agencies in the Department of Commerce, and that’s where they have remained for the last 56 years.

But many people in the industry have noticed the limitations of looking at fish strictly as economic assets, and they will be talking about it on the Fish is Food: Opening Doors for Seafood in Federal Programs Panel at the 2026 Pacific Marine Expo. “For years seafood has been treated as a commodity rather than part of the food system,” says Linda Behnken, executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA). “With Mike Illenberg leading the USDA’s [United States Department of Agriculture] new office of seafood, we have someone who knows the industry and can help fishermen access the programs we need.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

USDA announces USD 5 billion in loans available for seafood and meat processors

October 28, 2026 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it will be making USD 5 billion (EUR 4.5 billion) in loans available to expand and improve processing capacity for the nation’s seafood, meat, and poultry industries.

“From our crabbers in Alaska, to the lobstermen in Maine, to the great shrimpers in the Gulf of America, our nation is blessed with incredible men and women who work to bring this bounty to our plates. The Trump administration has recognized their incredible efforts and is working to provide all the necessary tools for them to succeed with our America First Seafood Strategy,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said in a release.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

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.”

 

Trump’s America First Seafood Strategy puts US fishermen in focus

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.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

MAINE: Maine farmers and fishermen can get federal assistance to offset high fuel prices

October 22, 2026 — Maine farmers and fishermen can now get federal assistance to offset rising diesel prices.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said Tuesday that farmers and fishermen are eligible for assistance under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s $8 billion “Harvest Fuel Relief” program.

Under that new program, farmers and fishermen can get a one-time payment to offset those higher production costs. Rates will be announced in November.

“The rising cost of fuel and other inputs has placed significant financial strain on hardworking farmers, fishermen, lobstermen, and their families. After speaking with both the White House and Secretary Rollins, I am pleased to have been assured that Maine fishermen and lobstermen will benefit from the Administration’s new agricultural relief package,” Collins said in a statement. “I will continue advocating for Maine’s fishermen, lobstermen, and specialty crop growers, who are integral to our state’s heritage, economy, and way of life, to ensure they receive the support they need to overcome these challenges.”

Read the full article at Bangor Daily News

National Seafood Association Statement on the Harvest Fuel Relief program

October 22, 2026– The National Seafood Association welcomes the announcement of the new Harvest Fuel Relief program, designed to offset the impact of higher fuel prices on agriculture and seafood communities. Getting America’s healthiest animal protein from bait to plate involves a complex supply chain, and rising fuel costs have placed significant financial pressure on seafood businesses.

The Trump administration’s work with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, the USDA Office of Seafood and the Farm Service Agency to include seafood in this critical program illustrates a focus on affordably feeding Americans. Likewise, it demonstrates the important role seafood plays in nutrition and food security.

Fuel continues to be one of the biggest operating expenses in the commercial seafood sector and this understanding and assistance from the Agriculture Department will help consumers and the  hardworking families who harvest America’s seafood.

Lisa Wallenda Picard
President & CEO

OREGON: Lawmakers urge continued support for West Coast fishermen, Oregon’s seafood industry

September 22, 2026 — Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley led a bipartisan group of Oregon and Washington lawmakers in a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins that calls on the USDA to deliver critical federal support to West Coast fishermen and seafood harvesters, processors, and distributors by purchasing Pacific Hake (whiting) fillets under its Section 32 purchase program.

“Historically, Pacific whiting exports to Ukraine, one of the largest whiting fillet markets, reached up to nearly $95 million per year, but instability in the region as a result of war has put that market in jeopardy and caused significant impacts to the supply chain. Compounded by trade embargoes, increased imported competition from low-cost proteins, inflationary pressures, rising operational costs, and more, these factors threaten the long-term stability and viability of this once-booming market and create uncertainty for coastal economies that rely on the whiting fishery’s success for their livelihoods,” wrote the lawmakers.

Read the full article at Lincoln County Leader

Pacific Northwest lawmakers request Section 32 purchase of hake

September 22, 2026 — U.S. lawmakers from the Pacific Northwest are asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to make a bulk purchase of Pacific whiting, or hake, as the ongoing war in Ukraine and other supply chain issues continue to impact demand.

“Historically, Pacific whiting exports to Ukraine, one of the largest whiting fillet markets, reached up to nearly USD 95 million per year (EUR 83 million), but instability in the region as a result of war has put that market in jeopardy and caused significant impacts to the supply chain,” the lawmakers said in a joint letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. “Compounded by trade embargoes, increased imported competition from low-cost proteins, inflationary pressures, rising operational costs, and more, these factors threaten the long-term stability and viability of this once-booming market and create uncertainty for coastal economies that rely on the whiting fishery’s success for their livelihoods.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource