The Trump administration has launched the America First Seafood Strategy, a federal initiative aimed at supporting the U.S. seafood industry, along with a proposed voluntary “U.S. Caught Seafood” label meant to help consumers distinguish American-caught fish from imported products.
Details of the strategy are posted at Seafood.gov. The plan focuses on reducing regulatory barriers to expanding and modernizing seafood processing infrastructure, which officials say supports processing jobs that serve as the primary income source for many rural Alaska communities.
The strategy also addresses the Maine lobster industry, pledging to help restore profitability for fishermen and protect them from what the administration describes as unfair foreign competition. Measures include strengthening import certification and compliance standards, pursuing regulatory reform, forming industry partnerships, and seeking expanded overseas markets for American seafood.
The proposed “U.S. Caught Seafood” label, which the FDA would help implement, is intended to let consumers identify seafood caught domestically versus seafood sourced elsewhere, giving shoppers the option to buy American if they choose.
The New England Fisherman’s Stewardship Association issued a statement supporting the creation of the label.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the labeling initiative alongside President Trump at a rally Friday night in Fort Myers, Florida. Officials said the label would give consumers “an easy way to identify American-caught seafood” and assurance that it was “harvested safely and sustainably by American fishermen.”
The initiative also opens up access to $5 billion in guaranteed loans intended to help fishermen expand and modernize meat and seafood processing operations.
Meat Processing Also Affected
The seafood strategy builds on earlier action affecting the broader meat industry. Earlier this year, President Trump signed Executive Order 14424, Promoting Fair Competition in Livestock Markets and Expanding Market Access for American Meat Producers, which aims to support ranchers by lowering barriers to processing their products for sale to consumers.
Under that order, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is establishing the SPUR Guaranteed Loan Program, which provides financing to small and regional beef processors to help them continue operating, expand, and diversify the types of animal proteins they process. The seafood industry is now being added to the SPUR loan program as well.
The loan program is part of USDA’s broader Rancher First Initiative, announced last month, which the agency says is designed to put American ranchers at the center of the nation’s food supply.
