NOAA’s NationalSeafood Strategy

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PurposeThe National Seafood Strategy outlines our direction over the next five years for supporting a thriving domestic U.S.
seafood economy and enhancing the resilience of the seafood sector in the face of climate change and other stressors.
Our vision is to ensure that:
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U.S. seafood continues to be produced sustainably
The U.S. seafood sector contributes to the nation’s climate-ready food production and to meeting criticaldomestic nutritional needs
U.S. seafood production increases to support jobs, the economy, and the competitiveness of the U.S. seafood
sector
Supply chains and infrastructure are modernized with more value-added activity in the United States
Opportunities are expanded for a diverse and growing seafood workforce

U.S. Department of Commerce | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | NOAA Fisheries

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Strategy Drivers
NOAA Fisheries’ National Seafood Strategy supports the growing
importance of seafood in meeting global needs and recognizes theunprecedented challenges faced by the U.S. seafood sector.

Seafood Is Good for People
Seafood is one of the best sources of nutrients essential for human healthand well-being. It is also critical to providing food to a growing global
population and is a foundational part of the identity of coastal
communities.

Seafood Is Good for the Economy
The U.S. harvests about 10 billion pounds of seafood annually with adockside value of $6.3 billion. Domestic seafood is also an economic
engine that supports 1.2 million jobs and generates $165 billion in sales
across the broader economy.

Seafood Is Good for the Planet
Harvested and grown responsibly, as it is in the United States, seafood is
also an environmentally friendly way to produce a nutritious food given
its relatively low carbon footprint and efficient use of resources, and isincreasingly a critical part of food systems designed to reduce andmitigate the effects of climate change.

U.S. Department of Commerce | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | NOAA Fisheries

The U.S. seafood industry
is facing unprecedented
challenges.
Climate change is rapidly altering
species location, size, andcomposition. It is also intensifying
extreme events, storms, and impacts
on infrastructure.
The coronavirus pandemic disrupted
markets and trade, decreasing theeconomic viability of the seafoodindustry and limiting access to someseafood.
New technologies and other ocean
uses, such as offshore wind energy,
will affect use of ocean space andpotentially result in conflicts.
Significant labor shortages plus
aging harvesting, processing, anddistribution infrastructure affectproduction, safety, and costeffectiveness in the industry.

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Strategy Framework
The National Seafood Strategy focuses on NOAA Fisheries’ work to sustainably manage marine fisheries and produce
seafood responsibly, based on sound science. It is one of a suite of strategies that describes how we will support thenation’s fisheries and execute our mission in the face of climate change, market disruptions, and new ocean uses.
The National Seafood Strategy also allows NOAA Fisheries to address important national issues such as the resilience ofcoastal fishing communities to stressors like climate change and COVID-19 market disruptions; the financial viability ofthe seafood industry; the effects and opportunities of international trade; and the importance of seafood to nutrition,food equity, food security, subsistence fishing, cultural traditions, and Tribal treaty rights.
To implement the strategy, NOAA Fisheries will partner with state, tribal, and other federal agencies, the National Sea
Grant College Program, Regional Fisheries Management Councils, Interstate Commissions, academia, non-governmentorganizations, harvesters, seafood farmers, and other partners or stakeholders to address the challenges facing theseafood sector, especially when resources are limited.

GOAL 1: Maintain or increase sustainable U.S. wild capture production
Changes in ocean conditions and the resulting shifts in distribution
and abundance of marine resources, and the intensity of extreme
events such as heat waves and damaging storms, are affecting accessto fishing opportunities, production of seafood, and fishing tosupport local dietary needs, cultural traditions and tribal treaty
rights. These factors, in addition to new ocean uses and advances insampling technologies and data modernization, call for an evolutionin science and management frameworks for a climate-ready seafood
sector, including:•Fisheries Science. Provide the natural and social science
necessary for fisheries management to adapt under changing ecosystem dynamics.

•Fisheries Management. Optimize and diversify fishing opportunities and sustainable seafood production while
ensuring the sustainability of fisheries through effective and efficient management. Identify and address
bottlenecks in management to support the commercial fishing industry and fishing communities in their efforts
to adapt to climate change and thrive in a changing ocean economy.

•Habitat Conservation in Support of Fisheries. Protect and restore habitat important to our nation’s fisheries
and support resilient coastal communities.

U.S. Department of Commerce | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | NOAA Fisheries

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GOAL 2: Increase sustainable U.S. aquaculture production
Seafood is a healthy and climate-friendly nutrition choice anddemand is increasing. Aquaculture of finfish, shellfish, invertebrates,and seaweed, is one effective way to significantly increase domestic
seafood production—it is how the majority of growth in global anddomestic demand has been met in the last 20 years. Supporting
diverse and regionally-appropriate growth of the domestic
aquaculture industry will depend on an efficient, strategic, andscience-based regulatory approach that considers and mitigates
impacts on protected resources, essential fish habitat, and marineecosystems.
•Marine Aquaculture Management and Regulatory Efficiency. Accelerate progress on implementing anefficient, predictable, timely, and science-based regulatory framework for marine aquaculture.

•Aquaculture Science. Provide science-based advice and tools to minimize potential effects of an aquaculture
operation on the environment and conduct coordinated, applied scientific research in support of sustainableindustry development.

GOAL 3: Foster access to domestic and global markets for the U.S. seafood industry
A thriving domestic seafood industry—capable of competing at
home and abroad—will translate into greater global seafood supply
and food security from sustainable U.S. fisheries. It will also decrease
our reliance on foreign fisheries that are at greater risk ofoverfishing, IUU fishing, and forced labor.
•Communication and Promotion. Increase public awarenessof the availability, sustainability, and nutritional value of allU.S. seafood.

•U.S. Market Development. Work with federal partners and others to identify and develop U.S. seafoodmarkets and put more U.S. seafood on U.S. plates, particularly for the underserved.

•Fair Trade. Promote fair seafood trade by combating IUU fishing and related harmful fishing practices aroundthe world and by expanding access to foreign markets for U.S. seafood.

U.S. Department of Commerce | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | NOAA Fisheries

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GOAL 4: Strengthen the entire U.S. seafood sector
Climate change, the COVID-19 market disruptions, and new ocean
uses are highlighting systemic challenges to the U.S. seafood industry
and the importance of supporting the entire seafood/fisheries value
chain, including after seafood hits the docks. Addressing thesechallenges will help the seafood industry to rebuild more quickly andenable the industry to be more resilient and flexible in the face ofpotential future crises and market shocks.
•Seafood as a Vital Part of the Blue Economy. Support theU.S. commercial fishing, marine aquaculture, and otherseafood communities to adapt and thrive in a changing
ocean economy.

•Seafood Infrastructure. Work across federal agencies to modernize and maintain U.S. seafood infrastructure(e.g., vessels, hatcheries, port and dock facilities, processing, storage, and working waterfronts) in order tostrengthen and enhance opportunities for coastal seafood communities and regional food networks.

•Workforce Development. Foster a growing and diverse seafood workforce and attract young harvesters andseafood farmers to the sector.

•Equity and Environmental Justice. Improve understanding of barriers to access to seafood, challenges todiversity of opportunity and scale in the seafood industry, and workforce demographics.

Strategy Implementation
Informed by public comment and advice from our partners, NOAA Fisheries will prepare an implementation plan for theNational Seafood Strategy with specific actions, timelines, partnerships, and milestones.

U.S. Department of Commerce | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | NOAA Fisheries

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Related NOAA Fisheries Strategies and Plans
The National Seafood Strategy is nested within a suite of policies and guidance that directs NOAA Fisheries’activities. The directives are complementary and may overlap in their goals and sometimes actions. They arewoven together by cross-agency coordination and priority setting. The other directives also address areas
outside the purview of the National Seafood Strategy, such as recreational fishing, a comprehensive plan forclimate change science and modeling, and protected resources.
NOAA Fisheries Strategic Plan for 2022–2025 outlines the agency’s goals and key strategies around climate,sustainable fisheries and seafood, protected species, and equity and environmental justice.
The NOAA Climate, Ecosystems, and Fisheries Initiative is a cross-NOAA effort to build the end-to-end,
operational ocean modeling and decision support system needed to safeguard the nation’s marine resources
and resource-dependent communities in a changing climate.
The NOAA Aquaculture Strategic Plan (2023–2028) lays out the framework to support a thriving, resilient,and inclusive U.S. aquaculture industry as part of a resilient seafood sector.
The National 5-Year Strategy for Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing 2022-2026
establishes interagency priorities to combat IUU fishing, curtail the global trade in seafood and seafood
products derived from IUU fishing, and promote global maritime security.
The Equity and Environmental Justice Strategy describes the path NOAA Fisheries will take to incorporate
equity and environmental justice into the vital services we provide to all communities.
NOAA Fisheries and National Ocean Service Guidance and Best Practices for Engaging in Incorporating
Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Decision Making provides best practices designed to ensure that thecollection and use of TEK is responsible, effective and mutually beneficial.
Recreational anglers also provide seafood and the Saltwater Recreational Fisheries Policy guides NOAA
Fisheries in the development and maintenance of enduring and sustainable high quality saltwaterrecreational fisheries.

U.S. Department of Commerce | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | NOAA Fisheries

6U.S. Secretary of Commerce

Gina M. Raimondo
Under Secretary of Commerce forOceans and Atmosphere

Dr. Rick Spinrad
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries

Janet Coit
August 2023
www.fisheries.noaa.gov
OFFICIAL BUSINESSNational Marine
Fisheries Service
1315 East West Highway

Photo credits | Cover: NOAA Fisheries/Brianna Shaughnessy; John Rae; Donald E. Hurbert; iStock;
Page 1: iStock; Page 3: Jay Fleming; Page 4: Joella Morris; NOAA Fisheries; Page 5: JimHarmon/SeaShare.

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U.S. Department of Commerce | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | National Marine Fisheries Service