More than three months after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the creation of its Office of Seafood, officials say the focus has shifted from launching the office to building what they described as an “America First Seafood Strategy” while identifying ways existing USDA programs can better serve commercial fishermen and seafood producers.
Since Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the office in April, USDA has been meeting with industry while conducting an internal review of agency programs that could be available to the industry, according to Mike Illenberg, acting director of the Office of Seafood.
The office was established to follow up on President Donald Trump's April 2025 executive order "Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness," with the goal of bringing seafood more fully into USDA's food policy and rural development programs.
Illenberg said the office's mission is to integrate seafood production into USDA food policy while strengthening domestic seafood processing, expanding marketing and export opportunities, and reinforcing the role of American seafood producers in rural economies and national food security.
One of the biggest challenges since the office's creation, he said, has been defining USDA's role within an industry that has traditionally worked more closely with NOAA Fisheries.
"While USDA has historically supported the rural coastal communities where commercial harvesters live and work, NOAA has taken the lead in supporting and managing commercial fisheries through the authorities of the Magnuson-Stevens Act," Illenberg said. "There is a lot of work to be done building and expanding our existing relationships between USDA, NOAA, the industry, industry stakeholders and policymakers."
Part of that effort has included educating both USDA staff and seafood businesses about which existing USDA programs may already be available to fishermen.
Among the office's top priorities, Illenberg said, are collaborating with NOAA and other federal agencies to develop the America First Seafood Strategy, reviewing USDA programs that relate to seafood production, and conducting outreach to help seafood businesses better understand funding opportunities.
The office is also reviewing applications that would add additional seafood products to the USDA Foods purchasing list, which supplies food assistance and nutrition programs.
For many commercial fishermen, one of the biggest questions has been whether the new office will create more opportunities for harvesters who have historically had limited access to USDA programs.
Illenberg described the office as a "culture shift" within USDA aimed at ensuring seafood producers have a fair opportunity to participate in agency programs.
"Our seafood harvesters are critically important to our national food security," he said. "USDA is looking internally at our programs to increase our support for domestic seafood production and consumption."
Rather than creating an entirely new layer of federal assistance, Illenberg said one of the office's primary functions will be helping fishermen and seafood businesses navigate existing USDA programs and application processes while coordinating with NOAA.
He said that effort is intended to benefit businesses of all sizes, including family-owned and owner-operated fishing operations.
"The principal function of the office will be to connect these businesses with USDA and NOAA programs and services and help them navigate the USDA network and application processes," Illenberg said.
As USDA continues drafting the America First Seafood Strategy with NOAA, Illenberg said the agency is hearing many of the same concerns regardless of region.
Among the issues consistently raised by industry members are working waterfront preservation, volatile seafood prices, aging fishing fleets, rising operating costs, foreign competition, labor shortages, an aging workforce and regulatory burdens.
"Industry and government are working together to find solutions to these challenges," he said.
Looking ahead, Illenberg said he hopes the office can provide greater long-term economic stability for America's fishing communities.
"I see the same uncertainty in the men and women in the fisheries' communities along the U.S. coast," he said. "My objective is to deliver a strategy that will bring them opportunity for economic stability."
