September 5, 2023 — A national seafood strategy to guide how the federal government regulates the entire seafood sector, from wild-harvest fisheries and aquaculture to market access and building a stronger sector, has been released. NOAA Fisheries developed and released the plan in August as world oceans began experiencing marine heat waves and the Gulf of Maine recorded its warmest year in history.
Climate change is rapidly altering species location, size and composition, while extreme weather affects infrastructure that brings, for example, lobsters landed in Stonington to processors and markets not close to home.
Offshore wind development and its effects also factor, and concerns over what the report describes as “significant” labor shortages and aging infrastructures. So do the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular on supply chains that still limit access to some seafood varieties and decrease overall revenues.
The U.S. lands about 10 billion pounds of seafood each year, with a dockside value of $6.3 billion and $165 billion in sales, while supporting 1.2 million jobs, according to reports.