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Courtesy of NAA:

NOAA Fisheries released the draft National Seafood Strategy and invites public comment through March 16, 2023. The strategy outlines their direction 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.

The NOAA vision is to ensure:

• U.S. seafood continues to be produced sustainably
• U.S. seafood production increases to support jobs, the economy, and the competitiveness of the U.S. seafood sector
• The U.S. seafood sector contributes to the nation’s climate-ready food production and to meeting critical domestic nutritional needs
• 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

The strategy also responds to the unprecedented challenges facing the U.S. seafood industry, including climate change, the coronavirus pandemic, new technologies and other ocean uses, and significant labor shortages and aging infrastructure.

NOAA Fisheries plans to implement the strategy by focusing on four goals:

1. sustain or increase sustainable U.S. wild capture production,
2. increase sustainable U.S. aquaculture production,
3. foster access to domestic and global markets for the U.S. seafood industry; and,
4. strengthen the entire U.S. seafood sector.

The strategy was developed based on feedback from partners, industry, Tribes, and stakeholders on the many challenges the seafood sector faces and the role NOAA Fisheries might play in sustaining it. NOAA will leverage existing capabilities and partnerships to meet these goals. They will also seek new resources and collaborations for the aspirational, yet important, activities. NOAA looks forward to working with you on advancing these goals.

NOAA will host two virtual listening sessions on March 2 and 9, 2023 to present the draft strategy and gather input. They will schedule additional consultations with Tribal nations on request.

Listening Session 1: March 2, 2023, 2pm (EST)/11am (PST)/5am (ChST)

Listening Session 2: March 9, 2023, 5pm (EST)/2pm (PST)/8am (ChST)

Public comments are integral to finalizing the strategy and helping guide the direction of NOAA’s work to support the seafood sector. Information on how to submit written comments is available on the NOAA website. Comments must be received by March 16, 2023.