A new report on fisheries policy by the public research firm Ocean Strategies concludes that a fundamental shift is needed to position seafood as a core component of the American food system.
"We don't have a fish problem; we have a competitiveness problem," said authors Brett Veerhusen and Hannah Heimbuch. "The U.S. has built one of the best fisheries management systems in the world. Now the challenge is selling seafood in a tough, modern marketplace. Access to fish defined the first 50 years. The next 50 will be defined by whether we can compete in the marketplace."
Seafood does not need to be reinvented, but it does need to compete, and faces several challenges in doing so — including rising costs of doing business at a time when consumers are simultaneously pulling back on seafood spending, they said.
Veerhusen, a commercial fisherman and former executive director of Seafood Harvesters of America, founded Ocean Strategies in Seattle in 2017 and serves as its principal. Heimbuch, executive director of the Under Sixty Cod Harvesters, is a fisheries policy and communications consultant for the firm.
Their latest fisheries policy report, developed with input from fishermen, processors and policymakers, was issued on April 28.
Across coastal communities, economic strain is increasing, processing capacity is shrinking, and market conditions are volatile and, in many cases, deteriorating, the report said. Climate change is also playing a role.
"Fishermen adapt, it's what we do," said Veerhusen and Heimbuch. "But climate impacts are outpacing what fisheries policy alone can handle. The opportunity now is to pair strong science with smarter investments, like processing, diversification, and flexible markets, so communities can actually keep fishing and stay viable."
"The real issue is competitiveness," they said. "Seafood is getting more expensive at the exact moment consumers are pulling back. Modernizing processing and logistics can lower costs and stabilize operations, which ultimately helps protect jobs. The goal isn't fewer workers. It's a system that can actually support them long-term."
The recent establishment of a U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Seafood marks a reclassification of seafood into the policies and systems that shape how food is produced, distributed and consumed in the United States. If passed, the American Seafood Competitiveness Act would be a meaningful unlock for processors, but it's not a silver bullet, they said. With the Office of Seafood in place, seafood has for the first time a real seat inside U.S. food policy, but it only matters if the industry shows up with clear, aligned priorities, they said.
Expanding USDA financing and related programs opens new pathways for vessel investment, processing capacity and working waterfronts. Without such support, even the most sustainably managed fisheries cannot fully participate in emerging opportunities, and competitive innovation remains an elusive goal for small and large operators alike, Veerhusen and Heimbuch said.
While the first 50 years of U.S. fisheries policy were defined by building a world-class management system, the next phase will be defined by whether that system can support a competitive seafood economy, including the rural coastal economies where most harvesters live, the report concluded.
