The U.S. Department of Agriculture will buy Atlantic haddock, pollock, and perch from domestic fisheries on the U.S. East Coast to supply food banks.
The purchase comes as part of a USD 1 billion (EUR 937 million) plan to supply emergency food providers through the U.S. Commodity Credit Corporation, according to a statement from U.S. Senator Edward Markey, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Representative Seth Moulton, and U.S. Rep. Bill Keating, all Democrats representing the U.S. state of Massachusetts.
“The Massachusetts seafood industry is a vital contributor to our local economy,” Warren said. “This industry has been hit hard by the pandemic and I’m glad to have worked with the Massachusetts delegation to secure funding to help fishermen while also providing nutritious food to struggling families across the country.”
The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) is a government-owned and operated entity that was created in 1933 to stabilize, support, and protect farm income and prices. CCC was also charged with maintaining balanced and adequate supplies of agricultural commodities and to aid in the orderly distribution of those commodities. The program was expanded in 2018 to help provide financial assistance to the U.S. agriculture sector and other related industries in response to new tariffs they faced from China, the European Union, and other countries.
The move came in response to advocacy from Massachusetts’ congressional delegation, which penned a letter to the USDA in December 2022 urging it to include more East Coast seafood in its purchasing programs. In 2020, the USDA announced it would spend USD 20 million (EUR 16.9 million) from its Section 32 program solicitation for Atlantic pollock, haddock, and redfish sourced from the U.S. East Coast. Out of that spend, New Bedford, Massachusetts-based Blue Harvest Fisheries picked up a contract for USD 4.4 million (EUR 3.8 million) worth of groundfish in September 2020 and Braintree, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based Channel Fish Processing and Blue Harvest Foods won a USD 24.6 million (EUR 22 million) Section 32 contract in March 2022 to provide 100,800 cases of frozen Atlantic pollock fillets, ocean perch fillets, and haddock fillets to the U.S. government.
The purchase was part of a USD 470 million (EUR 397.6 million) acquisition plan the USDA announced to buy food for distribution to communities across the country during the Covid-19 crisis, and was also part of a plan to help food processors find a use for surplus food.
“My colleagues and I have advocated for the inclusion of East Coast seafood in purchases by the USDA for many years, and this announcement is a win for Massachusetts fisheries and for hungry families across the country,” Keating said. “I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to find innovative ways to support this historic Massachusetts industry while combatting food insecurity.”
Massachusetts’ congressional delegation had asked the USDA to do more to include the fishing industry in its financial support programs set up to aid agricultural producers, calling the industries “essential to the American economy” and saying the Covid crisis put it under “serious financial duress.”
“These purchases will help keep East Coast seafood producers that have been affected by high fuel costs afloat, while providing American families in need with healthy, domestic and sustainable seafood products,” Markey said. “Our seafood industry produces some of the most sustainable seafood on the planet – it’s nutritious and delicious. Times have been tough, and I’m proud I could help these fishermen finally get the credit and the compensation they deserve, while also helping families in need enjoy fresh seafood at food banks across America.”
Blue Harvest Fisheries issued a statement confirming the purchase plan on 16 February.
"Blue Harvest Fisheries is grateful that in both 2020 and 2022, we were among the companies from which the USDA procured Atlantic seafood for the first time in over a decade," it said. "We are grateful to Senator Ed Markey, Representative Bill Keating, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and Representative Seth Moulton for their ongoing efforts to ensure that the federal government supports our fishermen, processing plant workers, and the seafood industry. We hope that this announcement by the USDA of its intent to buy Atlantic haddock, pollock, and ocean perch (a.k.a. Acadian redfish) as part of a USD 1 billion purchase for emergency food providers through the Commodity Credit Corporation will ultimately result in a significant purchase. Continued support of our fisheries by the USDA will benefit local fishermen and processing workers, and bring healthy, local, and sustainable seafood to American citizens."
The Port of New Bedford also called on the USDA to purchase more East Coast seafood.
"Currently, many species landed from our waters such as haddock, Atlantic pollock, and Acadian redfish (ocean perch) are fished at levels significantly below their sustainable quotas," it said. "Additional USDA purchases could help these fisheries harvest to their full potential, and would provide healthy, domestic seafood to American citizens, as well as provide more opportunity for our fleet and fishermen to spend more days fishing sustainably."
Photo courtesy of Raymond B. Summers/Shutterstock
