For the first time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is commissioning a new “office of seafood” to represent the nation’s fisheries and agriculture industries.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the new office during a press conference on 15 April.
“For the first time ever, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will have an office and a team fully dedicated to advancing, honoring, elevating, and supporting our farmers of the sea,” Rollins said.
According to Rollins, the new office will be devoted to offering members of the U.S. seafood industry the same opportunities that have been given to the agricultural industry, such as funding for promotion and prioritizing seafood on the international stage.
“I was a little startled that the USDA has never had an office for seafood; we’ve never had an advocate for all of the programs that are at the USDA,” Rollins said.
Rollins said the seafood industry in the U.S. has had to face intense competition from cheaper imports and that ensuring those imports are competing fairly will be a task for the new office. She added that promoting the seafood industry and seafood fits in with the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” strategy started by the U.S. Department of Health.
NOAA’s new “Fisherman in Residence” Dustin Delano – who is also the chair of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association – said the creation of the new office is a milestone that will help fishermen across the country, and he credited the Trump administration for the work it took to create it.
“Access matters – access to marketing, to risk management tools, and to financing that can strengthen this industry and support coastal communities across America,” Delano said. “This did not happen by accident; it happened because of leadership.”
U.S. Representative Kathryn Cammack (R-Florida) said the creation of the office will be a boon to Florida’s many fishermen and to food security in the U.S.
“This is a fantastic step forward because we know that food security is national security, and this has been an issue that we have been pushing for and fighting for,” Cammack said.
The National Fisheries Institute also welcomed the new office, calling it a critical step for supporting the industry and Americans' health.
"With today’s announcement of the Office of Seafood, we look forward to expanding that work and developing a fuller partnership with USDA," NFI President and CEO Lisa Wallenda Picard said. "From bait to plate and pond to processor there are many facets of this industry that can benefit from the department’s expertise in feeding Americans and assisting American businesses that produce food."
The new office was created on 15 April, as the USDA has been working to establish it for the past eight months, Rollins said.
The next step will be to ensure that the office of seafood is codified as a part of the USDA.
“It has to be more than just the next two years, nine months, and a couple of days [of this administration],” Rollins said. “We’ll work day in and day out with this industry to get this codified.”
