The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is asking seafood suppliers to bid on significant quantities of domestic pollock, shrimp, and catfish.
The agency is asking for bids on more than 21 million pounds of Alaska pollock fillets, nuggets, and sticks for household food distribution through food banks. Offers are due by 27 February for deliveries that will be made between April and June 2025.
This is the USDA’s second-largest pollock bid invitation ever – only behind June 2023 when the agency purchased 22.8 million pounds of pollock, GAPP CEO Craig Morris told SeafoodSource.
The agency is also requesting bids on 6.57 million pounds of domestic farmed catfish by 27 February. Winning suppliers will deliver the catfish between April and July.
Additionally, the USDA is requesting bids on 232,500 cases of peeled and deveined shrimp by the same deadline.
The large bid invitation follows the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) announcing in January that the USDA planned to purchase USD 50 million (EUR 48 million) worth of Alaska pollock total in 2025 in support of the federal government’s food bank and nutrition programs.
The purchases will help the Alaskan pollock sector, which is struggling with low prices and other challenges, ASMI said.
“We all appreciate the quick response by USDA to address the needs of the seafood industry and, at the same time, food-insecure Americans by committing to purchase … wild Alaska pollock products,” ASMI Global Food Aid Director Bruce Schactler said in a statement at the time. “These nutritious seafood products, which may include fillet portions, fish sticks, and nuggets, will strengthen the nutrition profile of USDA offerings as recommended in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans while, at the same time, helping to address the extreme market challenges that are so present and causing so much disruption across the entire Alaska seafood industry.”
