Saving Seafood

USDA Agrees to Buy $20M in Atlantic Seafood Under CARES Act

May 6, 2020 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture this week decided to include Atlantic seafood in certain government food assistance purchases, and now federal coronavirus funding will support USDA purchases from the East Coast commercial fisheries.

The Agricultural Marketing Service announced yesterday that it will purchase $20 million in Atlantic haddock, pollock, and redfish under the USDA Section 32 program.

It’s good news for a sector hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, members of Massachusetts’ congressional delegation said today. U.S. Sens. Edward J. Markey and Elizabeth Warren and U.S. Reps. William Keating and Seth Moulton have been pushing the USDA for weeks to include the fisheries in agricultural purchasing funded by the Coronavirus Assistance, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

The Massachusetts lawmakers wrote to the USDA in April and May to urge the inclusion of domestic and East Coast seafood companies in the $9.5 billion awarded by the CARES Act to help affected agricultural producers, and today they sent a celebratory press release.

Read the full story at WBSM

USDA to spend USD 70 million in COVID-19 relief funds on domestic seafood

May 5, 2020 — The U.S Department of Agriculture announced on Monday, 4 May, it had purchased USD 470 million (EUR 433.4 million) worth of agricultural products as part of its COVID-19 response, with nearly 15 percent of that spent on seafood products.

According to a USDA release, the USD 70 million (EUR 64.6 million) in seafood, along with the remaining agricultural goods, will go to the department’s Section 32 program, which purchases surpluses and directs their use in children’s nutrition and disaster relief programs.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

USDA to buy $70 million of seafood in response to COVID-19 crisis

May 4, 2020 — The following was released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The full list of USDA purchases includes $20 million of Atlantic haddock, pollock, and redfish; $20 million of Alaskan pollock; and $30 million of catfish products.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced details of $470 million in Section 32 food purchases to occur in the third quarter of fiscal year 2020, in addition to purchases previously announced, which will enable USDA to purchase surplus food for distribution to communities nationwide. These Section 32 purchases will provide additional support for producers and Americans in need, in response to changing market conditions caused by the COVID-19 national emergency.

“President Trump has authorized USDA to support our farmers affected by this national emergency and this action to purchase food and deliver to those in need further demonstrates his unwavering support for the American people during these unprecedented times,” said Secretary Perdue. “America’s farmers and ranchers have experienced a dislocated supply chain caused by the Coronavirus. USDA is in the unique position to purchase these foods and deliver them to the hungry Americans who need it most.”

Background:

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will purchase a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy and seafood products. Specific purchase amounts for each commodity are included in the chart below. Purchases are determined by industry requests, market analysis and food bank needs. AMS will begin issuing solicitations in June and intends to begin deliveries in July. Details on how vendors may participate are available on the Selling Food to USDA page on the AMS website. Solicitations will be posted to the AMS Open Purchases Request website once available. Industry requests for future purchases using Section 32 funds, including potential plans for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020, will be assessed on an ongoing basis.

Read the full release here

Massachusetts congressional delegation urges feds to include seafood in food aid purchases

May 4, 2020 — Members of the all-Democratic Massachusetts congressional delegation are pushing to include East Coast seafood in purchasing agreements funded by the federal Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.

Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren and Reps. William Keating and Seth Moulton said in a letter Friday to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue that when the U.S. Department of Agriculture begins its purchasing programs intended to assist those the pandemic has affected, the USDA should include domestic seafood.

Purdue in April announced that the USDA would be making about $19 billion in purchases through the coronavirus assistance program, the lawmakers said.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Bangor Daily News

US lawmakers pushing for USD 19 billion relief program to help aquaculture sector

April 22, 2020 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a USD 19 billion (EUR 17.6 billion) relief program to give “critical support” for farmers and ranchers to ensure the integrity of the country’s food chain during the coronavirus pandemic.

In a White House briefing on Friday, 17 April, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the money will be split among two programs, with USD 16 billion (EUR 14.8 billion) earmarked for direct payments to farmers and ranchers. The USDA will use the remainder to purchase fresh products that the agency will distribute to food banks across the country.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Massachusetts lawmakers call on government to help New England fisheries during COVID-19 crisis

April 6, 2020 — Members of Massachusetts’ congressional delegation are calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to give New England fisheries a needed boost as they battle through the COVID-19 outbreak.

U.S. senators Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren, along with U.S. representatives William Keating and Seth Moulton, on 2 April sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue asking him to use part of the USD 9.5 billion (EUR 8.8 billion) earmarked for agricultural producers – from the USD 2.2 trillion (EUR 2.0 trillion) CARES Act Congress passed in late March – to help seafood processors and other companies.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Keating Pushes USDA to Buy American Seafood Under CARES Act

April 6, 2020 — U.S. Rep. William Keating, who represents the 9th Congressional District in Massachusetts, joined some of his Capitol Hill colleagues today in urging the USDA to include U.S. seafood companies in a $9.5 billion program designed to help farmers affected by the coronavirus.

Keating, Rep. Seth Moulton, and Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren wrote to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and said the federal government should take steps to buy American seafood through the CARES Act agricultural assistance program.

“The pandemic-driven closure of restaurants and other businesses has devastated the New England seafood industry, as about two-thirds of seafood is consumed in restaurants and outside the home. Fishermen and processors that supply restaurants and local food systems need support,” the letter reads.

Read the full story at WBSM

US seafood consumption rises to highest level since 2007, but falls short of USDA recommendations

February 24, 2020 — On average, Americans consumed 16.1 pounds of seafood in 2018, a slight uptick from the year before, according to the latest “Fisheries of the United States” report released by NOAA Fisheries on 21 February.

U.S. consumers ate more fresh and frozen seafood in 2018, contributing to the highest seafood consumption level seen since 2007, NOAA Fisheries found.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Alaska pollock industry officials travel to China to meet seafood importers

January 22, 2020 — A group of Alaskan pollock industry officials, in China for a 10-day trade visit to explore opportunities in the country, met with senior U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service officials at the United States’ Embassy in Beijing last week.

The tour, sponsored in large part by a grant from the Emerging Market Department of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service, also included stops in Qingdao and Shanghai.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MAINE: Aquaculture census shows sales are up

January 9, 2020 — It should come as no surprise to anyone who follows Maine’s fisheries that the state’s aquaculture industry is growing in value and number of producers.

The U.S, Department of Agriculture 2018 Census of Aquaculture, released shortly before Christmas, paints a slightly different picture of the industry on a national basis.

According to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service report, in 2018 sales of U.S.-grown aquaculture products totaled $1.5 billion, an increase of 10.5 percent over 2013, the last year for which a comprehensive census was compiled. Though sales were up, the number of producers was down.

In 2018, there were 2,932 aquaculture farms with sales in the United States, down 5 percent from 2013. Five states — Mississippi, Washington, Louisiana, Virginia, and California — accounted for 51 percent of the sales and 37 percent of the farms.

“The 2018 Census of Aquaculture updates important information about the industry that we last produced in 2013,” said NASS Administrator Hubert Hamer. “These valuable data tell the story of U.S. aquaculture, following and expanding on the Census of Agriculture. The information in the report helps trade associations, governments, agribusinesses and others learn about aquaculture and make informed decisions that have a direct impact on the future of the industry.”

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American