Seafood companies and industry groups have begun to issue statements and responses to the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States.
Trump has said little about the seafood industry directly, but he has expressed favor for policies that reduce environmental barriers preventing the further development American industry, which may lead to changes in the management of U.S. fisheries. Trump has also taken a strong stand against free-trade agreements, and if he acts on pledges to scuttle the Trans-Pacific Partnership framework, add tariffs on Chinese imports and renegotiate or withdraw from the North America Free Trade Agreement, it will likely have an significant effect on the global seafood trade.
The National Fisheries Institute, the trade group representing the American seafood industry, released an official statement on Wednesday, 9 November, though spokesman Gavin Gibbons.
“NFI is prepared to work with incoming President Trump and his administration on all aspects of seafood,” it said. “From trade to fisheries and nutrition, seafood is an important component of a variety of vital sectors. NFI is ready to serve as a resource as this new administration begins to learn the complexities and significance of seafood.”
On High Liner Foods’ third quarter earnings call on 9 November, company CEO Keith Decker was asked about his reaction to Trump’s election.
“I can’t even comment or speculate on what has happened in the last 24 hours,” he said. “It will unfold as it unfolds.”
Fred Krupp, the president of nonprofit advocacy group Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), posted his thoughts on the election in a blog post on EDF’s website.
“The election of Donald Trump has profoundly altered the landscape in which environmentalists work. While environmental issues weren’t central to the campaign, President-elect Trump took positions during the campaign that were directly counter to ours — and contradicted by science,” Krupp wrote. “We are still assessing the challenges that lie ahead, but this much is clear: The next few years will bring some big fights and also some unpredictable fluidity.”
World Wildlife Fund President and CEO Carter Roberts also issued a statement, saying “The presidency may be changing, but the threats posed by runaway climate change and unsustainable resource-use remain.”
“We urge the president-elect to accelerate the transition to renewable energy and to honor the commitments we’ve made to solve the climate crisis and to conserve the world’s oceans, forests and species,” Roberts said. “Large-scale investments in conservation and renewable energy and breakthroughs in sustainability will spur innovation, create thousands of good paying jobs, and reduce the emissions fueling climate change. President-elect Trump pledged to make America safer. At a time when seas are rising and climate-driven superstorms pummel our cities with increasing regularity, ambitious climate action is necessary to deliver on that promise.”
Environmental activist group Greenpeace has “Together we are stronger than Trump” posted on the main page of its website, along with a link to its statement on the election outcome.
“Greenpeace is not going anywhere, and we are committed to continue building a movement that fights for environmental, social, racial, and economic justice,” Greenpeace USA Executive Director Annie Leonard wrote in the post. “ Donald Trump’s climate denial is staggering. Not only does he consider it a hoax, he wants to shut down the EPA, “cancel” the Paris Climate Agreement, stop funding clean energy research, and ‘drill, baby, drill.’ But U.S. election results don’t change the science or the reality of climate change, so we will need to double down on finding solutions both at home and with allies around the world.”
SeafoodSource will continue to report on reactions to the U.S. election from corporations, trade groups and other organizations with influence on the seafood industry as they are released.
