U.S. legislators in Congress are once again utilizing the fiscal year 2027 annual military funding bill to advance several key seafood provisions, most of which block the Department of Defense from purchasing foreign seafood.
The U.S. House took up its version of the bill recently, which most notably would eliminate any exemptions from the military’s “Buy American” requirements when it comes to seafood. That requirement is part of the Berry Amendment, which directs the federal government to purchase American-made and -sourced products. The Berry Amendment requires all seafood products to be sourced from U.S.-flagged vessels or harvested from U.S. waters, and all processing must take place in the U.S. or on a U.S.-flagged vessel.
Still, Berry Amendment exemptions can be obtained if the government determines that U.S. goods are unavailable or cost-prohibitive.
The fiscal year 2027 legislation would remove that allowance for seafood, clarifying that exemptions “shall not apply to procurement of any fish, shellfish, or seafood product.”
The language mirrors an amendment added to the fiscal year 2026 military funding bill by U.S. Representative Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina).
“For too long, foreign competitors have undercut American workers, threatened our economy, and exploited loopholes in federal law. Our amendment ends it,” Mace said at the time. “If the Pentagon is buying seafood, it will come from American waters, caught by American hands, not from our adversaries.”
It’s unclear how much foreign seafood has been purchased by the U.S. military.
A government audit released last year found only one example of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps purchasing foreign seafood. According to the report, a prime vendor to the military was sourcing seafood from Chile but replaced the product with a U.S.-sourced alternative once it was made aware of the issue. The report did find that the services were not including the required “Buy American” language in their seafood procurement contracts, but the government found the vast majority of military contracts “effectively implemented federal laws prohibiting the procurement of seafood from foreign sources.”
One amendment under consideration for the fiscal year 2027 legislation would require quarterly audits of Berry Amendment compliance, while another would require a report on how much foreign seafood is being purchased for military commissaries.
Another amendment would bar the department from purchasing China-origin seafood for military commissaries; language in the 2026 legislation barred the department from purchasing seafood from China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia to serve in dining halls or commissaries.
“American seafood producers desperately need support,” Southern Shrimp Alliance Executive Director Blake Price said in a release. “Serving our troops Chinese seafood rather than domestically harvested and processed seafood is an insult to the men and women serving our country and to U.S. commercial fishermen across the nation.”
The fiscal year 2027 legislation also includes a provision directing the Defense Commissary Agency and the Defense Logistics Agency to purchase more local produce, seafood, and meat for military commissaries and dining facilities.
The bill would also amend the Federal Ship Financing Program by making the construction of commercial fishing vessels eligible for long-term loans offered by the Maritime Administration (MARAD).
Progress on the bill in the House was halted 1 July after U.S. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) attempted to tie the defense legislation to the SAVE Act – a bill that would codify several changes to America’s elections system prioritized by U.S. President Donald Trump – prompting several Republicans to oppose their party’s bill. Lawmakers are expected to take the bill back up after the July break.
