Looking to the Future, Living in the Present: Supporting a Thriving and Resilient Seafood Industry

October is National Seafood Month, and the hard-working people around our nation who provide healthy, sustainable seafood for our tables deserve to celebrate and be celebrated. If you're not sure how to join in, we've got some suggestions. And if you're not sure why we observe this month, read on!

We are fortunate here in the United States to have some of the most sustainable and productive fisheries on the planet. We're a global leader in responsibly produced seafood. Our fishermen and seafood farmers operate under some of the most robust and transparent environmental standards in the world. As a result, they are sustainably supplying nearly 10 billion pounds of healthy protein! In many areas, these fisheries form the economic backbone of communities around the country. Domestic seafood supports more than 1.6 million jobs and generates $183 billion in sales across the broader economy. U.S. seafood truly is good for people, good for our economy, and good for the planet!

It's important to recognize that this celebration comes at a difficult time in our seafood sector for many reasons. Coastal communities and the fishing industry are grappling with continuing fallout from the closure of critical fisheries and the devastation of natural disasters, including recent Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Not to mention other factors like COVID-related market hangovers, global trade issues and imbalance, concerns about bycatch, competing ocean uses, and marine heatwaves and other impacts from climate change.

We are all part of communities; people need relationships, networks, and safety to thrive. The resilience and health of so many of our coastal communities revolve around fisheries and the habitats that support marine life. The ecosystem-based fisheries management at the heart of our work at NOAA Fisheries includes the humans who impact and depend on our oceans. And we know there is more that can be done to deliver for people who depend on fishing for their subsistence and livelihoods.

Last year, with the support of Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, NOAA Fisheries released a National Seafood Strategy. The aim is to promote a thriving domestic U.S. seafood economy and enhance the resilience of the seafood sector in the face of these climate-driven challenges and other stressors.

We have been working closely with partners and constituents across the country and are already employing many elements of this strategy. Earlier this month, we released the Seafood Strategy Implementation Plan, which identifies specific actions we can take to meet the goals outlined in the Seafood Strategy. Some of those activities are well underway.

One example of the implementation plan in action is the recent release of the Alaska Seafood Industry Snapshot. Members of the fishing industry requested that our economists conduct this analysis to recognize and respond to the downturn in Alaska commercial fisheries.This snapshot estimates the Alaska seafood industry suffered a $1.8 billion loss 2022-2023, and that the Alaska fishing industry also saw a 50 percent decline in profitability from 2021-2023. Those are dire statistics. And these impacts have had ripple effects across the entire country, with an estimated 38,000 jobs lost nationwide and a $4.3 billion loss in total U.S. output (the total dollar value of all goods and services produced). Our resource managers, fishermen, and community leaders need timely social and economic data so that they can understand and respond to these challenges. Through the National Seafood Strategy, we have committed to advancing this type of critical research and data collection to ensure better informed decisions going forward.

Of course, no one can do this work alone. Partnerships are central to NOAA Fisheries' work to execute the National Seafood Strategy. We will continue to partner with governments at every level, tribes and other Indigenous groups, the regional fisheries management councils and commissions, and a broad range of other constituents to address the challenges facing the seafood sector. This is about sustainable resource management, secure and fruitful jobs, and providing food to our people.

Sustainability is a core tenet of fisheries management in the United States. And when we talk about sustainability, we are talking about supporting the overall health of both our shared natural resources and the communities that depend on them. We see the changes in the water and in our communities, and are working hard to restore, adapt, and innovate to address the challenges we are facing now and ahead. At NOAA Fisheries, we celebrate the diversity of our ocean life and the people, communities, and partners who work with us across this great nation to support healthy, sustainable harvests of quality seafood. Thank you!

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