The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will create a new Office of Seafood with in the agency, it announced on April 15.
“With the launch of the USDA Office of Seafood, we are honoring decades of hard work on the water and opening the door to new opportunities, stronger support and a brighter future for the seafood industry,” said Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
One of the primary roles of the new USDA Office of Seafood will be coordinating across USDA agencies to ensure fishermen are integrated into USDA programs and working alongside the U.S. Department of Commerce and other federal partners to revitalize the American seafood industry.
The creation of the new office supports USDA’s implementation of Executive Order 14276, Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness. The USDA Office of Seafood will play an important role in coordinating with the U.S. Department of Commerce in the development of the America First Seafood Strategy to promote production, marketing, sale and export of U.S. fishery and aquaculture products and strengthen domestic processing capacity.
“Fishing is the very foundation of Maine’s heritage,” said Maine Sen. Susan Collins. “Today, the seafood industry in our region generates more than $5 billion in income and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, in addition to providing a nutritious food supply, delicious restaurant meals and sustaining entire coastal communities. I appreciate that USDA is recognizing our fishermen as farmers of the sea and establishing the Office of Seafood. The creation of this office is a long overdue, essential step to expanding seats at the table for our hardworking fishing families, who are a key piece of our nation’s history and our future as well.”
